Grade 5 Measurement: Metric System
Master metric conversions
What You'll Learn
- Use metric prefixes
- Convert meters, grams, liters
- Multiply or divide by 10, 100 or 1000 by moving the decimal point (5.NBT.A.2)
📖Metric
King Henry Died By Drinking Chocolate Milk! kilo = 1000, centi = 1/100, milli = 1/1000. 1 kilometer = 1000 meters, 1 meter = 100 centimeters, 1 centimeter = 10 millimeters, 1 kilogram = 1000 grams, 1 liter = 1000 milliliters.
✏️Moving the decimal point
350 centimeters = ___ meters: centimeters → meters is small → big, so divide by 100. The decimal point moves 2 places left: 350 ÷ 100 = 3.5 meters. And 2.75 kilograms = 2.75 × 1000 = 2750 grams.
Worked examples
Real problems from the practice worksheets, solved one step at a time.
Example 1
15 centimeters = ___ meters
- 1 meter = 100 centimeters.
- Centimeters are smaller than meters, so there will be fewer meters: divide by 100. 15 ÷ 100 = 0.15.
- Dividing by 100 moves the decimal point 2 places to the left.
- 15 centimeters = 0.15 meters.
Answer: 0.15
Example 2
4.5 meters = ___ millimeters
- 1 meter = 1000 millimeters.
- Meters are bigger than millimeters, so there will be more millimeters: multiply by 1000. 4.5 × 1000 = 4500.
- Multiplying by 1000 moves the decimal point 3 places to the right.
- 4.5 meters = 4500 millimeters.
Answer: 4500
Example 3
4000 milliliters = ___ liters
- 1 liter = 1000 milliliters.
- Milliliters are smaller than liters, so there will be fewer liters: divide by 1000. 4000 ÷ 1000 = 4.
- 4000 milliliters = 4 liters.
Answer: 4