Metric System

Standard system of measurement used by all scientists (and most people!) around the world

base metric unit for length?

base metric unit for volume?

base metric unit for mass?

base 10 system makes it easy to convert between units

common metric prefixes

• milli 0.001
• centi 0.01
• deci 0.1
• deca 10
• hecto 100
• kilo 1000

The prefix tells you how big or small the measurement is, kind of like place values.

Converting between units is simply a matter of multiplying or dividing by a factor of 10!

1cm = 10 mm
1mm = 0.1cm
1m = 100cm
1cm = 0.01m
1m = 1000mm
1mm = 0.001m

One strategy for unit conversions is called the metric staircase

metric staircase

Glue in and fill in your metric staircase and let's practice some conversions.

5m = ?cm

5m = ?km

14mm = ?cm

87cm = ?m

32mm=?km