or How to Know “How Much?” The SI System or How to Know “How Much?”
The Metric System Officially called the SI System Based on increments of 10 (one decimal place or zero) A good measurement has a number and a unit Prefixes on the unit name tell you how many zeroes to put before or after a number Used in every country around the world except the USA and Báhrain The official measurement system of the USA since the late 1800s
Why you don’t already know the Metric System Your parents didn’t know it No incentive for companies to switch You are still being taught the Imperial System through everyday experiences - Recipes - Consumer goods There is a slow, steady inclusion process
Base Units Base units are defined by only one measurement
Length Distance from one point to another Meters (m) are the base units (a little longer than a yard) For smaller items, centimeters (about one knuckle), and millimeters (the thickness of a dime) are used
Mass Amount of substance (number of particles) in an object Gram (g) is the base unit It is too small for some common measurements (about 1 paper clip of matter) Usually use the kilogram (kg) for basis of comparisons A kilogram is a little more than 2 pounds
Time How long it takes for something to happen Also called “Time Elapsed” or “Elapsed Time” Seconds (s) are the base unit Can lead to large numbers (1hr = 3600s)
Derived Units of the SI System Derived units are defined by two or more measurements Volume Amount of space taken up by a substance Liters (L) are the base units (a little more than a quart) Liters are too large for some measurements, so milliliters (mL) are often used
The other derived unit Density Amount of matter in an object divided by the space taken up by the object “How much stuff is in how much space” Usually expressed in grams per milliliter (g/mL) for smaller amounts Expressed in kilograms per liter (kg/L) for larger amounts THE NUMBER DOES NOT CHANGE
What would you use to measure the length of your arm? Liters Meters Grams Grams/Milliliter 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
What would you use to measure how much water is in a pool? Liters Meters Grams Grams/Milliliter 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
What would you use to measure how much sugar is in one teaspoon? Liters Meters Grams Kilograms 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
What would you use to measure how much you weigh? Liters Meters Grams Kilograms 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
What would you use to measure the width of the room? Liters Meters Grams Grams/Milliliter 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
Participant Scores 500 Greg Bowman Kevin Burkhart Daniel Clink Saadia Gauthier Jeff Greene Ashley Hayes Kendra Hutchinson Brian Jones Julian Kilner Brandon McDonald
SI Prefixes Used to show a number of base units Think of them as coefficients (multipliers) Easy to convert by sliding the decimal
SI Prefixes From the largest to the smallest kilo- hecto- deka- BASE deci- centi- milli- 1000 100 10 1 1/10 1/100 1/1000 “King Henry died by drinking chocolate milk.” Put your finger on the unit you have, move it to the unit you want Move your decimal the same number of places in the same direction that your finger moved
Testing your knowledge… Answer the five questions… Use the “Metric Ruler” to slide the decimal to get the desired units… Ready?
What is 25mm in m? 2.5m 0.25m 0.025m 0.0025m 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
How many grams are 1.12kg? 112g 0.00112g 0.112g 1120g 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
How many Liters are 591mL? 0.591L 59.1L 0.059L 5.91L 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
What is 2.5cm in mm? 250mm .25mm 25mm 0.025mm 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
0.355L is how many mL? 3.55mL 35.5mL 355mL 3550mL 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
Participant Scores 1000 Greg Bowman Daniel Clink Jeff Greene Kendra Hutchinson Brian Jones Julian Kilner Brandon McDonald Trevor Readdick Chelsea Vachon 900 Kevin Burkhart