USING METRIC UNITS TO MEASURE LENGTH

The metric system is similar to the ______________ system Ex: there are ____ pennies in a dime;

_____dimes in a dollar; _____ dollars in a $10 bill.

The metric system is based on a system of 10

Using meters

For larger items, the metric system uses length in meters

A meter is a little bit larger than a yard A meter is about the length from the tip

of your finger to the tip of your nose (You know you want to try it!)

The abbreviation for meter is m A period is not used with abbreviations

for metric units

Using meters

A common tool for measuring length is a meterstick

A meterstick is divided into equal units called centimeters. There are 100 centimeters in a meterThe abbreviation for centimeter is cm.

Using meters

Sometimes even a centimeter is to larger and you need a smaller unit, called a millimeter

There are 10 millimeters (mm) in each centimeter.A meter has 1000 mm

Using meters

Sometimes you need a larger unit for distances, like to use to measure from here to your house.

While we would talk about this distance in miles using the customary system, the metric system uses kilometers (km).

Length Equivalents

10 mm 1 cm

1000 mm 1 m

100 cm 1 m

1000 m 1 km

Some metric prefixes

Prefix Meaning Unit and its abbreviation

Kilo- (k) 1000x Kilometer (km)

Centi- (c) 1/100 or .01 Centimeter (cm)

Milli- (m) 1/1000 or .001 Millimeter (mm)