9.2 The metric system of measurement

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This module is from Fundamentals of Mathematics by Denny Burzynski and Wade Ellis, Jr. This module discusses the Metric System of measurement. By the end of the module students should be more familiar with some of the advantages of the base ten number system, know the prefixes of the metric measures, be familiar with the metric system of measurement and be able to convert from one unit of measure in the metric system to another unit of measure

Section overview

The Advantages of the Base Ten Number System
Prefixes
Conversion from One Unit to Another Unit
Conversion Table

The advantages of the base ten number system

The metric system of measurement takes advantage of our base ten number system. The advantage of the metric system over the United States system is that in the metric system it is possible to convert from one unit of measure to another simply by multiplying or dividing the given number by a power of 10. This means we can make a conversion simply by moving the decimal point to the right or the left.

Prefixes

Common units of measure in the metric system are the meter (for length), the liter (for volume), and the gram (for mass). To each of the units can be attached a prefix. The metric prefixes along with their meaning are listed below.

Metric prefixes

kilo thousand
deci tenth
hecto hundred
centi hundredth
deka ten
milli thousandth

For example, if length is being measured,
1 kilometer is equivalent to 1000 meters.
1 centimeter is equivalent to one hundredth of a meter.
1 millimeter is equivalent to one thousandth of a meter.

Conversion from one unit to another unit

Let's note three characteristics of the metric system that occur in the metric table of measurements.

In each category, the prefixes are the same.
We can move from a larger to a smaller unit of measure by moving the decimal point to the right .
We can move from a smaller to a larger unit of measure by moving the decimal point to the left .

The following table provides a summary of the relationship between the basic unit of measure (meter, gram, liter) and each prefix, and how many places the decimal point is moved and in what direction.

kilo hecto deka unit deci centi milli

Basic Unit to Prefix		Move the Decimal Point
unit to deka	1 to 10	1 place to the left
unit to hector	1 to 100	2 places to the left
unit to kilo	1 to 1,000	3 places to the left
unit to deci	1 to 0.1	1 place to the right
unit to centi	1 to 0.01	2 places to the right
unit to milli	1 to 0.001	3 places to the right

Conversion table

Listed below, in the unit conversion table, are some of the common metric units of measure.

Unit Conversion Table
Length	$1 kilometer (km) = 1,000 meters (m)$	$1, 000 \times 1 m$
$1 hectometer (hm) = 100 meters$	$100 \times 1 m$
$1 dekameter (dam) = 10 meters$	$10 \times 1 m$
1 meter (m)	$1 \times 1 m$
$1 decimeter (dm) = \frac{1}{10} meter$	$. 1 \times 1 m$
$1 centimeter (cm) = \frac{1}{100} meter$	$. 01 \times 1 m$
$1 millimeter (mm) = \frac{1}{1,000} meter$	$. 001 \times 1 m$
Mass	$1 kilogram (kg) = 1,000 grams (g)$	$1, 000 \times 1 g$
$1 hectogram (hg) = 100 grams$	$100 \times 1 g$
$1 dekagram (dag) = 10 grams$	$10 \times 1 g$
1 gram (g)	$1 \times 1 g$
$1 decigram (dg) = \frac{1}{10} gram$	$. 1 \times 1 g$
$1 centigram (cg) = \frac{1}{100} gram$	$. 01 \times 1 g$
$1 milligram (mg) = \frac{1}{1,000} gram$	$. 001 \times 1 g$
Volume	$1 kiloliter (kL) = 1, 000 liters (L)$	$1, 000 \times 1 L$
$1 hectoliter (hL) = 100 liters$	$100 \times 1 L$
$1 dekaliter (daL) = 10 liters$	$10 \times 1 L$
1 liter (L)	$1 \times 1 L$
$1 deciliter (dL) = \frac{1}{10} liter$	$. 1 \times 1 L$
$1 centiliter (cL) = \frac{1}{100} liter$	$. 01 \times 1 L$
$1 milliliter (mL) = \frac{1}{1, 000} liter$	$. 001 \times 1 L$
Time	Same as the United States system

Distinction between mass and weight

There is a distinction between mass and weight. The weight of a body is related to gravity whereas the mass of a body is not. For example, your weight on the earth is different than it is on the moon, but your mass is the same in both places. Mass is a measure of a body's resistance to motion. The more massive a body, the more resistant it is to motion. Also, more massive bodies weigh more than less massive bodies.

Converting metric units

To convert from one metric unit to another metric unit:

Determine the location of the original number on the metric scale (pictured in each of the following examples).
Move the decimal point of the original number in the same direction and same number of places as is necessary to move to the metric unit you wish to go to.

We can also convert from one metric unit to another using unit fractions. Both methods are shown in [link] of [link] .

Sample set a

Convert 3 kilograms to grams.

3 kg can be written as 3.0 kg. Then,

Thus, $3kg = 3,000 g$ .
We can also use unit fractions to make this conversion.
Since we are converting to grams, and $1, 000 g = 1 kg$ , we choose the unit fraction $\frac{1,000 g}{1 kg}$ since grams is in the numerator.

$\begin{matrix} 3 kg & = & 3 kg \cdot \frac{1,000 g}{1 kg} \\ = & 3 kg \cdot \frac{1,000 g}{1 kg} \\ = & 3 \cdot 1,000 g \\ = & 3,000 g \end{matrix}$

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9.2 The metric system of measurement

Section overview

The advantages of the base ten number system

Prefixes

Metric prefixes

Conversion from one unit to another unit

Conversion table

Distinction between mass and weight

Converting metric units

Sample set a

Practice set a

Exercises

Exercises for review

Questions & Answers

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