The Metric System

Is based on powers of 10. – There are 10 millimeters in 1 centimeter – There are 10 centimeters in 1 decimeter – There are 10 decimeters in 1 meter 193 countries in the world use the metric system – There are 196 countries in the world today

The Metric System Made up of base units and prefixes Metric Base Units: a measurement of a specific quantity (meter, second, gram, etc) Metric Prefix: multipliers of a base unit (milli-, micro-, centi-, kilo- etc.)

Base Units Base UnitAbbreviationMeasurement metermLength gramgMass seconds (or sec)Time ampereAElectric Current kelvinKTemperature molemolAmount of Substance candelacdLuminous Intensity literLVolume (not an official base unit)

Prefixes to Metric Units kilometer metermillimeter kilogramgram milligram PrefixAbbreviationMultiplierMeaningExample Tera-T1,000,000,000,000Trillion1 Tb (terabyte) = 1 trillion bytes Giga-G1,000,000,000Billion1 Gb (gigabyte) = 1 billion bytes mega-M1,000,000million1 Mm = 1,000,000 m kilo-k1,000thousand1 kg = 1,000 g hecto-h100hundred1 hm = 1,000 m decka-da10ten1 daL = 10 L base deci-d0.1tenth10 dm = 1 m centi-c0.01hundredth100 cm = 1 m milli-m0.001thousandth1,000 ms = 1 s micro-µ millionth1,000,000 µm = 1 m nano-n billionth1,000,000,000 nm = 1m

English vs. Metric Which is larger? 1. 1 mile or 1 kilometer 2. 1 pound or 1 kilogram (on Earth) 3.1 inch or 1 cm 4.1 ounce or 1 gram 1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds 1 g is about 1 paperclip 1 oz = g

Measurements Estimating with correct precision

Making Accurate Measurements What is the length of the nail? cm

Rules to Check Your Measurement 1.Read big to small 2.Look on the scale what the smallest place-holder is. 3.Add one more place than what you see. 4.All measurements must include units. cm

Making Accurate Measurements Record the following measurements in cm. cm ABC D