The Metric System Is used in nearly every country around the world. The United States of America doesn’t use the metric system for it’s primary measurement system.

Measure of Length The meter is the measure of length.

Measure of Mass (Weight) The gram is the measure of mass. We most commonly use the kilogram.

Measure of Volume The liter is the measure of volume.

Measure of Time The unit of time is the second.

Measuring Temperature The official unit of temperature is the Kelvin. You don’t have degrees Kelvin, you just have Kelvins. Kelvin is based on absolute zero. We commonly use the Celsius scale because it is based on freezing and boiling of water. Add 273 to change Celsius to Kelvin.

Derived Unit A unit formed from the combination of base units. Examples include m/s or g/cm 3

Measuring Density Density is a ratio comparing the mass of an object to its volume. Density = mass / volume

Common Metric Prefixes When there is no prefix you have the base unit or 10 0 ; such as gram, meter, liter, etc. The most common prefixes are kilo, centi, and milli. Kilo is 10 3 Centi is Milli is 10 -3

Other Metric Prefixes Giga is 10 9 Mega is 10 6 Micro is 10 -6, symbol for micro is u

Measure of Length Millimeter (mm).1 cm.001 m km Centimeter (cm) 10 mm.01 m km Meter (m)1000 mm100 cm.001 km Kilometer (km) 1,000,000 mm 100,000 cm 1000 m

Measure of Weight or Mass Milligram (mg).1 cg.001 g kg Centigram (cg) 10 mg.01 g kg Gram (g)1000 mg100 cg.001 kg Kilogram (kg) 1,000,000 mg100,000 cg 1000 g

Measure of Volume Milliliter (ml).1 cl.001 l kl Centiliter (cl) 10 ml.01 l kl Liter (l)1000 ml100 cl.001 kl Kiloliter (kl) 1,000,000 ml100,000 cl 1000 l