1. Metric Conversions Ladder Method
T. Trimpe

2. How many jumps does it take?
Ladder Method 1 2 3
KILO 1000 Units
HECTO 100 Units
DEKA 10 Units
DECI 0.1 Unit
Meters Liters Grams
CENTI 0.01 Unit
MILLI Unit
How do you use the “ladder” method?
1st – Determine your starting point.
2nd – Count the “jumps” to your ending point.
3rd – Move the decimal the same number of jumps in the same direction.
4 km = _________ m
Starting Point
Ending Point
How many jumps does it take? 4. 1
__. 2
__. 3
__.
= 4000 m

3. Conversion Practice Try these conversions using the ladder method.
1000 mg = _______ g 1 L = _______ mL 160 cm = _______ mm
14 km = _______ m 109 g = _______ kg 250 m = _______ km
Compare using <, >, or =.
56 cm m 7 g mg

5. Note: A very common mistake is that the prefix milli- stands for a millionth. WRONG!! As can be seen from the table above, milli stands for a thousandth. It comes from the French, mille for they could not use it for the 1000 prefix as that was bagged by the Greek word, kilo.
The scientific notation used in the factors column helps to reduce long numbers to a manageable width. By convention, the number is always shown as a unit [ 1 to 9 ], with decimal places chosen to suit accuracy, and the size of the number is adjusted by changing the magnitude. 101 means moving the decimal point one space to the right so 1.0 x 101 is shorthand for 10, then 1.33 x 100 stays at 1.33 and 1.33 x 10-1 becomes This format tends to be used when the figure gets longer so 109 or 10-9 cuts out a lot of zeros.
Don't confuse scientific notation with powers. You can say, quite rightly, that a million is 10 to the power of 6 [ 10^6 or 106] but if you confused it with the scientific notation and had 1^7 the answer would be 1 and not a million ! You say one times one is one, seven times, and the answer is still one So it's all a matter of conventions - if we all follow the same rules then the information is passed correctly from one brain to another which is, after all, the object of writing something down Source:
Note: The prefix hecto- to centi- are not 'preferred prefix' but referred to as 'other prefix' by SI, though centi- is in common use as in cubic centimetre or cc. Le Système International d'Unités (SI) name the prefix giga and nano, milliard and milliardth respectively. The wording shown here was approved by the General Conference on Weights and Measures and has been adopted in practice.

6. Metric Conversion Challenge
Write the correct abbreviation for each metric unit.
1) Kilogram _____ 4) Milliliter _____ 7) Kilometer _____
2) Meter _____ 5) Millimeter _____ 8) Centimeter _____
3) Gram _____ 6) Liter _____ 9) Milligram _____
Try these conversions, using the ladder method.
10) 2000 mg = _______ g 15) 5 L = _______ mL 20) 16 cm = _______ mm
11) 104 km = _______ m 16) 198 g = _______ kg 21) 2500 m = _______ km
12) 480 cm = _____ m 17) 75 mL = _____ L 22) 65 g = _____ mg
13) 5.6 kg = _____ g 18) 50 cm = _____ m 23) 6.3 cm = _____ mm
14) 8 mm = _____ cm 19) 5.6 m = _____ cm 24) 120 mg = _____ g

7. Compare using <, >, or =.
25) 63 cm m 27) 5 g mg 29) 1,500 mL L
26) 536 cm dm 28) 43 mg g 30) 3.6 m cm