Metric System

Have you heard this one? King Henry Died Unexpectedly Drinking Chocolate Milk. This sentence is a mnemonic for the core metric system prefixes: k h d u d c m Or, kilo hecta deca unit (g, m, L) deci centi milli But there are SO MANY more prefixes (check out the next slide).

Metric Conversions Each prefix has a numeric meaning. Each space on the metric scale represents a multiplier of 10. SO: 1 km is 1000 times larger than 1 meter (kilo = 1000 or 10 3 ) 1 cm is 100 times smaller than 1 meter (centi = 1/100 or ) The base of the scale is 10 0 and is referred to as the unit. There are several units that could go here: Grams Meters Liters Bytes Fareds

Metric Practice How many grams are in 2.4 kg? Move decimal to the right 3 times: k h d u d c m 2.4. ͝ ͝ ͝ SO: 2.4 kg is 2400 (or 2.4 x 10 3 ) grams How many liters are in 2340 mL? Move decimal three places to the left: k h d u d c m ͝ ͝ ͝ SO: 2340 mL is (or 2340 x ) liters