1. The metric system, science, and You!
Metric Mania
The metric system, science, and You!

2. What is Metrics?
The Metric System is a system of measurement that is used by scientists all over the world.
The United States is the only country which does NOT use the metric system.

3. Metric Units Length: Meter (m) Volume: Liter (L) Mass: Gram (g)
There are different metric units depending on what we want to measure:
Length: Meter (m)
Volume: Liter (L)
Mass: Gram (g)
These are called basic units.

4. Prefixes Matter!
When you add a prefix to a basic unit you change it’s value.
Kilo (k) = 1000
Hecta (h) = 100
Deca (da) = 10
BASE UNIT = 1
Deci (d) = .1
Centi (c) = .01
Milli (m) = .001

5. Metric Conversion 1000 100 10 1 .1 .01 .001 Kilo (k) Hecta (h)
Deca (da)
100 10
Deci (d) 1
Centi (c) .1
Milli (m)
.01
.001

6. How do you use the Ladder Method?
Deci (d)
Milli (m)
Centi (c)
Deca (da)
Hecta (h)
Kilo (k)
.001 10 1 .1
.01
1000
100
4.___.___.___. = ________ m
4000
How do you use the Ladder Method?
Determine your starting point.
Count the “jumps” to your ending point
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?

7. Length/Distance
The basic unit of length in the metric system is the meter and is abbreviated using a lowercase m.
Metric Units
1 Kilometer (km) = 1000 meters
1 Meter = 100 Centimeters (cm)
1 Meter = 1000 Millimeters (mm)

8. Measuring Length To measure length, we use a ruler.
How many millimeters are in 1 centimeter?
1 centimeter = 10 millimeters

9. Measuring Length 28
What is the length of the line in millimeters? _______mm
What is the length of the line to the nearest centimeter? ________cm ***HINT: Round to the nearest centimeter – NO decimals. 3

10. Volume Volume is the amount of space an object takes up.
The base unit of volume in the metric system is the liter and is represented by L
Metric Units
1 liter (L) = 1000 milliliters (mL)
1 milliliter (mL) = 1 cm3 = 1 gram*

11. What is the volume of water in the cylinder? _____mL
Measuring Volume
To measure volume, use a graduated cylinder.
Read the measurement based on the bottom of the meniscus or curve.
When using a real cylinder, make sure you are eye-level with the level of the water.
What is the volume of water in the cylinder? _____mL 67

12. Meniscus What causes the meniscus?
A concave meniscus occurs when the molecules of the liquid attract those of the container. The glass attracts the water on the sides.

13. What is the volume of each cylinder?
Measuring Volume
_______ ml ______ ml ______ ml
What is the volume of each cylinder? 52 37 23

14. Volume
Solid volume is found by taking 3 measurements – L x W x H each measurement is measured in cm.
The volume of the object is expressed as cm³

15. Mass Mass refers to the amount of matter in an object. Metric Units
The base unit of mass in the metric system is the kilogram and gram. Kilogram is abbreviated kg and gram is abbreviated g.
Metric Units
1 Kilogram (km) = 1000 Grams (g)
1 Gram (g) = 1000 Milligrams (mg)

16. To measure mass, we use a triple beam balance.
Measuring Mass
The objects are placed on the scale
Then you move the weights on the beams until you get the lines on the right-side of the scale to match up.
To measure mass, we use a triple beam balance.

17. ______ + ______ + ______ = ________ g
Measuring Mass
Once you have balanced the scale, you add up the amounts on each beam to find the total mass.
What would be the mass of the object measured in the picture?
______ + ______ + ______ = ________ g 40
300
1.8
341.8

18. Mass versus Weight Song
Mass vs. Weight
Let’s sing about it!!!
Mass versus Weight Song