Metric Conversion Tutorial

Metric Conversion Tutorial Click play to start

Did You Know? • How many Litres are there in a 355 mL pop can? • How many kilometres is the sun’s radius if it is 0.6955 Gm (Giga meters) • The smallest wavelength of light that can be seen by humans is 380 nm (nano meters), how many millimetres is this? • A pumpkin seed has the mass of 250 mg, how many grams is this? • As a result of the 2011 Japanese earthquake there has been 1.8 µs (micro seconds)subtracted from the Earth day. How many seconds have we lost? • All these question and more will be answered if you click play. Click play to continue

Part 1: Reading a Metric Unit. • Have you ever seen measurements written like these before? • 55 cm, 355 mL, 78 µs, 150 Gg. • Have you ever wondered what they meant? • Click the play button and you will find out! Click play to continue

How do you read a metric unit? • There is only one base unit for each type of measurement. • We will use the following 4, but there are more. • . • . • . • . • Metric combines the bases units with Prefixes to represent different sizes. Distance = meters (m) Mass = grams (g) Volume = liters (L) Time = seconds (s) Base Units Click play to continue

What is a prefix? • Pre = before • Fix = attached • Prefix = attached before • Example: • km has the prefix k attached to the base unit m This is read kilo metre. • mL has the prefix m attached to the base unit L This is read milli litre. Click play to continue

Did you take the notes? • Please click the following link of your choice. • Yes, I did take the notes, I want to move on. • Oops, no I didn’t take the notes and need to go back.

Quick Quiz 1 • What is the prefix symbol in 67 cg? • Please click the following link of your choice. • A. g • B. c • C. cg • D. None of the Above.

Sorry • Please reread the information by choosing this link. • If you wish to skip ahead without rereading choose this link. Keep trying you’ll get the idea

Way to go! • Please click the following link of your choice. • Lets try another one. • I would like to reread the information. You got the idea!

Quick Quiz 2 • What is the base unit symbol in 45 Mg? • Please click the following link of your choice. • A. M • B. g • C. Mg • D. 45 • E. None of the above.

Sorry • The prefix is always the first letter(s) written and the base unit is always the last letter. • For Mg the base unit symbol is g for grams and the prefix is M for Mega. • Please click the following link of your choice. • I would like to reread the instructions. • I would like to continue. Keep trying you’ll get the idea

That is correct. • Yes, the base unit is the last letter in the symbol and the prefix is always the letter(s) that are written first. • Please click the following link of your choice. • Continue • Start this section again. You got the idea!

Quick Quiz 3 • What is the prefix in 737 dag? • Please click the following link of your choice. • A. 737 • B. d • C. a • D. g • E. da

Sorry • The prefix deca has the only two letter prefix, with the symbols of da. If you ever see 3 letters for a metric prefix and unit you can be certain that it is deca in front of the base. • Please click the following link of your choice. • Continue. • Start at the beginning of this section again. Keep trying you’ll get the idea

That is Correct! • The prefix deca has the only two letter prefix symbols of da. If you ever see 3 letters for a metric prefix and unit you can be certain that it is deca in front of the base. • Please click the following link of your choice. • Continue. • Start at the beginning of this section again. You got the idea!

Quick Quiz 4 • What is the prefix in the value 550 m? • Please click the following link of your choice. • A. m • B. There is no prefix, this is in base units. • C. This unit is not possible. • D. 550

This was a tricky one! • In the metric system, if there is only one letter after the numbers it means the measurement is in the base units and there is NO prefix. • Please click the following link of your choice. • Try Quick Quiz 4 again. • Redo this section from the start. • Move on. Keep trying you’ll get the idea

That is Correct! • In the metric system, if there is only one letter after the number(s) it means the measurement is in the base units and there is NO prefix. You got the idea! Click play to continue

Recap: Recognizing unit and prefix. • All metric units are written with prefix symbol(s) written before a base unit symbol. • Ex. kg, cm, ds, ML... • Deca is the only prefix that has two letters da. This is so you can tell it apart from deci (d). • Ex. dag, daL, dam, das • In the metric system, if there is only one letter after the numbers it means the measurement is in the base units and there is NO prefix. • Ex. g, m, L, s Click play to continue

Now you Know • Recall: • Have you ever seen measurements written like these before? • 55 cm, 355 mL, 78 µs, 150 Gg. • Have you ever wondered what they meant? • 55 cm is 55 with the prefix c (centi) and base unit (metres). • 355 mL is 355 with the prefix m (milli) and base unit (Litres). • 78 µs is 78 with the prefix µ (micro) and base unit (seconds). • 50 Gg is 50 with the prefix G (giga) and base unit (grams). Click play to continue

Part 2: Metric prefix list.. • Have you ever wondered what a giga, mega, or a micro meant? • They are all metric prefixes. • To find out more click play. Click play to continue

Metric Prefixes • As you learned in section one the metric system uses prefixes attached in front of a base unit. • But why? • The answer is simple, each prefix describes how much bigger or smaller the measurement is compared to the base unit. • The next page will introduce you to the common metric prefixes and their meaning. Click play to continue

Click anywhere to advance through this Page Common Metric Prefixes Notice how these still increase by a larger factor of 10. They increase by 1000 each time. See how the value increases by factor of 10 See how the value decreases by a factor of10 Notice how these still decrease by a larger factor of 10. They decrease by 1000 each time. You may Click play to move ahead

Recap • The first three prefixes above the base (da, h, k) increase by a factor of 10 each time. • The first three prefixes below the base (d, c, m) all decrease by a factor of 10 each time. • All the rest of the metric prefixes larger or smaller than the first three increase or decrease by a factor of 1000 each time. • That means, every prefix is just a factor of 10 larger or smaller than the base unit. Click play to continue

Daunting task! • The prefix chart shown earlier seems like a lot to know. • Knowing the prefix, name, and value can be a lot when beginning. • So, for now all you will have to know will be the prefix list in order to be successful. Click play to continue

You will need to know the prefixes • For now you will only need to know the common prefixes that we will write them out like this. • G_ _M_ _k h da U d c m_ _µ_ _n • The U represents the general place for base units. In our case we will have grams (g), metre (m), Litre (L), or seconds (s). • Capitalization is important. For example, M is different from m and h is used for hecto not H. • The new symbol µ is a Greek letter called mu. This is the symbol for micro. • You must include the __ __spaces. • Try writing this out on a piece of paper. g, m, L, s Click play to continue

Prefix list • Here is the list again. The more times you write or see it the faster you will remember it. • G_ _M_ _k h da U d c m_ _µ_ _n • To help you remember the list try this: • Grab My kittens hiding down under dads car motor meow now! • To remember the base units try this. • my grandma Loves stew • (for meters, grams, Litres, and seconds) g, m, L, s Click play to continue

Quick Quiz 1 • What is the letter missing from the given metric prefix list below? • G_ _?_ _k h da U d c m_ _µ_ _n • Please click the following link of your choice. • A. L • B. M • C. m • D. s • E. There is nothing missing.

That is correct • Capital M is missing from the list. Capital M stands for mega. • Please click the following link of your choice. • Continue. • Restart this section. You got the idea!

Sorry • Capital M is missing from the list. Capital M stands for mega. • Remember the pneumonic: • Grab My kittens hiding down under dads car motor munow! • Please click the following link of your choice. • Continue. • Restart this section. Keep trying you’ll get the idea

Quick Quiz 2 • Pick ONE metric prefix list that is complete and in the correct order. Don’t forget your pneumonic. • A. g__m__k h da Unit d c m__µ__n • B. G__M__k h d Unit da c m__µ__n • C. G__M__ h k da Unit d c m__µ__n • D. G__M__k h da Unit d c m__µ__n

Sorry • That is not the correct choice. • Please click the following link of your choice. • Retry quick quiz 2. • Start at the beginning of this section again. • Find out the answers and move on. Keep trying you’ll get the idea

Yes! • You are well on your way to being a metric conversion guru! • This choice needed to have capital g and m. g__m__k h da Unit d c m__µ__n • This choice had da and d reversed. • G__M__k h d Unit da c m__µ__n • This choice had the k and h reversed. • G__M__ h k da Unit d c m__µ__n • Press play to continue. Click play to continue

Quick Quiz 3 • What are the base unit symbols we will use? • Don’t forget your pneumonic. • Please click the following link of your choice. • A. G M k h • B. m g L s • C. d c m µ • D. M g l s

Way to Go! • The correct answer was: • m g L s • Because my grandma Loves stew. • Please click the following link of your choice. • Redo this section for extra practice. • Continue to the next section. You got the idea!

Sorry • Click anywhere to see the answers. • A. G M k h • B. m g L s • C. d c m µ • D. M g l s This is the beginning of the prefix list not the base units. Correct. Because my grandma Loves stew. This is the end of the prefix list not the base units. This has the correct letters but the M should be m and l should be L. Click play to continue

Recap • You will write out the prefixes as a single list of letters like this. Including the __ spaces. • G_ _M_ _k h da U d c m_ _µ_ _n • This pneumonic will help you. • Grab My kittens hiding down under dads car motor munow! • To remember the base units try this. • my grandma Loves stew • (for meters, grams, Litres, and seconds) g, m, L, s Click play to continue

Now You Know • Recall: • Have you ever wondered what a giga, mega, or a micro meant? • The prefix giga has the symbol G and it represents 1 000 000 000 x the base unit it is attached to. G is found on the far left of our prefix list. • The prefix mega has the symbol M and it represents 1 000 000 x the base unit it is attached to. M is found second in from the left of our prefix list. • The prefix micro has the symbol µ and represents 1/1 000 000 or 0. 000 001 (1 millionth) of the base unit it is attached to. µ is found second in from the right of our prefix list. Click play to continue

Part 3: Metric Conversion • Metric conversion can be broken into simple steps. • If you follow these steps you will be able to do any conversion correctly every time . • The first step in metric conversion is using your prefix list to find out how far apart the two units are that you need to convert. • Lets look at converting 5476 mg to kg • To see how to use the prefix list press play. Click play to continue

Step 1: Moving on the Prefix List • Recall: Using the list to convert 5476 mg to kg • G_ _M_ _k h da U d c m_ _µ_ _n • This is your essential conversion tool. • We use this to find out how far apart two prefixes are. • How many steps from mg to kg? • Click anywhere to see the animation. • It is 6 steps to the left 6 5 4 3 2 1 End Start g, m, L, s Click play to continue

Lets start converting. • Example 1: Convert 95.1 km into cm • We will take this first one slow. • 1. Write out the metric prefix list, including the base Units underneath. • G_ _M_ _k h da U d c m_ _µ_ _n • 2. Determine the location of the given unit prefix on the list. • The given unit is km so the prefix is k • Click once to see it on the list. • 3. Determine the location of the desired unit prefix on the list • The desired unit is cm so the prefix is c • Click once to see it on the list. Start End g, m, L, s Click play to continue

Converting example 1 Cont. 1 2 3 4 5 • G_ _M_ _k h da U d c m_ _µ_ _n • 4. Now count the moves along the prefix list from starting prefix to ending prefix (km to cm). • Note the direction of motion (right or left). • Click once to see the animation. • From k to c is 5 moves to the right. g, m, L, s Click play to continue

Converting example 1 Answered. Decimal • 95.1 km =__________________cm • 5. Determine the location of the decimal of the given measurement and move the decimal, on the given value, the same number of steps and in the same direction as found in step 4 (5 to the right). • Click once to see animation • 6. Rewrite the value in the space provided with the new decimal location. • Fill in empty spots with zeros. • 7. Check: Any non zero numbers never change in the final value. The decimal has been written in the new location. Are all the zero’s included and necessary? or =9 510 000.. 0 0 0 0 5 to the right Click play to continue

Recap in short steps: • 1. Write out the prefix list • 2. Find the starting prefix and the Final prefix. • 3. Count the moves from start to finish including direction. • 4. Move the decimal on the original value the same as on the prefix list in step 3. Click play to continue

Metric Conversion Tutorial