Lesson 17 of 1524
Metric measurement
Inside one kind of measure, the metric system moves by powers of ten.
Practice this chapterKilo- means 1,000. Centi- means 0.01. Milli- means 0.001. A kilometer is 1,000 meters. A millimeter is 0.001 meter.
Length, mass, and capacity are different families. A prefix converts inside one family. It does not turn meters into grams.
The three prefixes you will use
kilo = 1,000 centi = 0.01 milli = 0.001
Multiply or divide by the prefix, and stay in the same kind of measure.
Worked example
Convert 3 kilometers to meters.
- 1Kilo- means 1,000 of the base unit. One kilometer is 1,000 meters.
- 2Meters are the smaller unit, so the count gets larger. Multiply by 1,000 rather than divide.
- 33 × 1,000 = 3,000.
- 4The measure is still length. The prefix does not turn kilometers into grams or liters.
Result: 3,000 meters
Why. Each of the 3 kilometers contains 1,000 meters, so the same distance written in meters is 3 × 1,000 = 3,000. A smaller unit needs a larger number to describe the same amount.
Moving to a smaller unit makes the count larger. 1 meter is 100 centimeters, not 0.01 centimeter.
Practice margin
This chapter
A fresh set from this chapter only. Choose 10 or 20. Multiple choice and fill-in, with no repeat inside the set.