In dealing with the Metric measurements we must be able to convert from one unit to another.
RULE:- To convert from a large unit to a small we multiply the large unit by the small unit.
RULE:-To convert from a small unit to a large we divide the small unit by the large
unit.
is "milli" and "liter" put together) is a very small amount of liquid.
Here is a
milliliter of milk in a teaspoon.
It doesn't even
fill the teaspoon!
Tom says if you collect about 20 drops of water, you will have 1 milliliter:
20
drops of water
make
about 1 milliliter
And
that a teaspoon can hold about five milliliters:
1
full teaspoon of liquid
is
about 5 milliliters
Milliliters
are often written as ml (for short), so "100 ml" means "100
milliliters".
But
a milliliter is definitely not enough for someone who is thirsty! So Tom told me
about liters.
A liter is just a bunch of milliliters put
all together. In fact, 1000 milliliters makes up 1 liter.
1
liter = 1,000 milliliters
This jug has
exactly 1 liter of water in it.
Liters are
often written as L (for
short), so "3 L" means "3 Liters".
Milk,
soda and other drinks are often sold in liters.
Tom
says to look on the labels, so the next time you are at the store take a minute
and check out how many liters (or milliliters) are in each container!
Now
I know that a milliliter is very small, and a liter is like a jug in size, I
think I will ask for half a liter of juice!
So
this is all you need to know:
1 Liter = 1,000 Milliliters
Mass
(Weight)
Grams
- Kilograms
- Tonnes
Grams are the smallest, Tonnes are the biggest.
Grams
A paperclip weighs about 1 gram.
Hold one small paperclip in your hand. Does that weigh a lot? No! A gram is very light. That is why you often see things measured in hundreds of grams.
Grams are often written as g (for short), so "300 g" means "300 grams".
Tom tells me a loaf of bread weighs about 700 g
Kilograms Once you have 1,000 grams, you have 1 kilogram.
1 kilogram = 1,000 grams
A dictionary has a mass of about one kilogram.
Kilograms are great for measuring things that can be lifted by people (sometimes very strong people are needed of course!).
Kilograms are often written as kg (that is a "k" for "kilo" and a "g" for "gram), so "10 kg" means "10 kilograms".
When you weigh yourself on a scale, you would use kilograms. Tom weighs about 40 kg. How much do you weigh?
But when it comes to things that are very heavy, we need to use the tonne.
Tonne
Once you have 1000 kilograms, you will have 1 tonne.
1 tonne = 1,000 kilograms
Tonnes (also called Metric Tons) are used to measure things that are very heavy.
Things like cars, trucks and large cargo boxes are weighed using the tonne.
This car has a mass of about 2 tonnes.
Tonnes are often written as t (for short), so "5 t" means "5 tonnes".
Final thoughts about mass:
1 kilogram = 1,000 grams
1 tonne = 1,000 kilograms
Length
Measuring how long things are, how tall they are, or how far apart they might be are all examples of length measurements.
Millimeters
- Centimeters
- Meters
- Kilometers
Small
units of length are called millimeters.
A millimeter is about the thickness of a plastic id card (or credit card).
Or about the thickness of 10 sheets of paper on top of each other.
This is a very small measurement!
Centimeters
When you have something that is 10 millimeters, it can be said that it is 1 centimeter.
1 centimeter = 10 millimeters
A fingernail is about one centimeter wide.
You might use centimeters to measure how tall you are, or how wide a table is, but you would not use it to measure the length of football field. In order to do that, you would switch to meters.
Meters
A meter is equal to 100 centimeters.
1 meter = 100 centimeters
The length of this guitar is about 1 meter
Meters might be used to measure the length of a house, or the size of a
playground.
Kilometers
When you need to get from one place to another, you will need to measure that distance using kilometers. A kilometer is equal to 1,000 meters.
The distance from one city to another or how far a plane travels would be measured using kilometers.
Final thoughts about measuring length:
1 centimeter = 10 millimeters
1 meter = 100 centimeters
1 kilometer = 1000 meters