Scientists world wide have agreed upon a common system of measurement for their work that is simple to use and easy to compare. The Metric System includes units to measure any amount. Most of these may include prefixes that increase and decrease these units by 10, 100, or 1,000 times.

We can (and must) measure everything with metric system units: Measurement: Base Metric Unit: Mass Distance Volume Temperature Gram Meter Liter Degrees Celsius

Warning: Math Ahead!

“Milli” “Centi” “Kilo” ÷ 1,000 ÷ 100 x 1,000 We are able to show amounts above or below our metric units by adding prefixes to the original unit: Prefix: Math Operation: “Milli” “Centi” “Kilo” ÷ 1,000 ÷ 100 x 1,000 Another way to think of the movement through these prefixes is by adding or taking off zeros. Tip:

Let’s say that we find that it’s mass is 1 gram. EXAMPLES: If we want to determine how much a rock weighs we will use units called _______. Grams Let’s say that we find that it’s mass is 1 gram. We are now given a much larger rock – a “boulder” perhaps – and are told that it is a thousand times heavier than our previous sample! We can say that this rock weighs one __________. Kilogram

We are testing a small rocket that we built We are testing a small rocket that we built. We will measure the distance it travels in units called _________. Meters We are surprised to see that on its first flight it achieves an altitude of one Kilometer! But we are soon disappointed to see that its second flight is only half as high as the first. We can say that this flight reached an altitude of ______ meters. 500

Bonus ! Brain Buster If you thought the second rocket flight was bad, just wait – because it managed to get 100 times higher than our third flight which was a disaster! Our third rocket launch only resulted in an altitude of _____ centimeters! 500