Metric System:
Length and Distance

Metric System

• The metric system is the primary measuring system used throughout the world.

• The only two major industrial countries that don't use it are the United States and England.

Metric Family

• Meters measure distance

• Liters measure volume of liquids

• Grams measure mass of solids

Prefixes

• Kilo for very large objects

• Meter, liter, gram for average objects

• Centi for small objects

• Milli for very small objects

Converting in the Metric Family

• To convert units:

1. Know your starting point

2. Count the number of places you want to move and the direction (right or left)

3. Move your decimal point this number of places in this direction; Example: 5 m = _____ km

Units for Length

• There are four primary units we will use for length or distance:

• kilometers (km)

• meters(m)

• centimeters (cm)

• millimeters (mm)

Practice

• 1000 meters = _____ kilometer

• 100 centimeters = ____ meter

• 10 millimeters = ___ centimeter

Using a ruler

• All metric rulers are numbered with centimeters (although they may show mm, cm, or metric)

• Small lines on rulers are millimeters