Basic Metric System and Conversions

Metric System Basics and Conversions

The metric system, part of the SI system, is based around the number 10. It is therefore easy to visualize and work with numbers in the metric system. For most situations there are only a few important metric units to know (although there are many others). meter (m) – the 1 (one) unit of length, used for measuring length and distance, (about 3 feet and 3 inches) liter (l) – the 1 unit of volume, used for measuring liquids and gasses, almost a quart kilogram (kg) – the 1 unit of mass, used for measuring weight, a little over 2 pounds gram (g) – a common unit of mass which is 0.001 kg (about the weight of a paperclip) – notice that it is not the 1 unit.

In addition to knowing these 1 units, it is important to learn these prefixes. centi - 0.01 (one hundredth) – or one part in 100 milli - 0.001 (one thousandth) – or one part in a thousand kilo – 1000 (one thousand)

So, a centimeter (cm) is 0.01 of a meter (one hundredth), and a millimeter (mm) is 0.001 (one thousandth) of a meter, and a kilometer (km) is 1000 meters (thousand).

Fill in the following sentences based on what you learned above:

A milliliter (ml) is: 0.001 of a liter. A milligram (mg) is: 0.001 of a gram. A kiloliter (kl) is: 1000 liters. A centiliter (cl) is: 0.1 of a liter.

Converting within the metric system is easy if you know the basic 1 units and their prefixes. Simply multiply by or divide by the appropriate multiple of 10.

For example:

300 ml = 0.3 liters (l). There are a thousand ml in a liter, and we’re converting from a small unit (ml) to a large unit (liter) so we divide by 1000.

100 km = 100,000 meters (m). There are 1000 meters in a kilometer and we’re converting from a large unit (km) to a small unit (m) so we multiply by a thousand. Now do these problems below! 1. 600 mg = 0.6 g 2. 1200 cm = 1.2 m 3. 50 liters = 50,000 ml 4. 660 meters = 0.66 km 5. 7000 ml = 7 liters 6. 876 meters = 876,000 mm. 7. 0.001 km = 1 meters