Metric Units

Metric Units for Measurement MeasurementBase UnitAbbreviation Distancemetersm Massgramsg VolumeLitersL Timesecondss

Why use metric units? Do we always use these basic units? – No! – Sometimes it is better to use units that are bigger or smaller – For example, sometimes it is better to measure distance in miles instead of feet Metric units use prefixes to indicate bigger and smaller units

Metric Unit Prefixes

PrefixAbbreviateNumberExampleAcronym kilok1000kilometer (km)King hectoh100hectometer (hm)Henry dekada10dekameter (dam)Died Base1meter (m)By decid0.1decimeter (dm)Drinking centic0.01centimeter (cm)Chocolate millim0.001millimeter (mm)Milk

Practice conversions 1000 mg = ___________ g 1 L = mL 160 cm = mm 14 km = m 109 g = kg

Practice conversions mg = _____1.0___ g 1. L = 1000.mL 160. cm = mm 14. km = m 109. g = kg

Why use metric units? In metric units, it is really easy to switch between bigger and smaller units – All you have to do is move the decimal point (multiply or divide by 10)! In British units, it’s a lot harder to switch units – To switch from feet to miles, you have to divide by 5280!