5.6 Measurement flashcards

Vocabulary and conversion concepts for the metric system, including prefixes, units of measure, and the ladder method.

Metric system

A way of measuring things that is used all over the world, but not in the United States, featuring units like the meter, gram, and liter.

Meter

The metric unit used for measuring length; it is the ideal unit of measure for a football field.

Gram

The metric unit used for measuring weight.

Liter

The metric unit used for measuring volume.

$1\,gram$ examples

Items such as a paperclip, a U.S. dollar bill, a pinch of salt, or a piece of gum.

$1\,kilogram$ examples

Items such as a bag of sugar, one liter of water, a pineapple, or four medium potatoes.

$1000$ rule

A principle in the metric system where many units change by $1,000$ through either multiplication or division, depending on the direction of conversion.

kilo-

A prefix meaning thousand ($1,000$).

hecto-

A prefix meaning hundred ($100$).

deka-

A prefix meaning ten ($10$).

deci-

A prefix meaning tenths ($0.1$).

centi-

A prefix meaning hundredths ($0.01$).

milli-

A prefix meaning thousandths ($0.001$).

Ladder Method

A three-step conversion process: 1st-Determine starting point; 2nd-Count the "jumps" to the ending point; 3rd-Move the decimal the same number of jumps in the same direction.

Converting to a smaller unit

A process where you move the decimal point to the right or multiply.

Converting to a larger unit

A process where you move the decimal point to the left or divide.

Measuring liquids

To measure, look at the big numbers at the top and bottom, then count the spaces between them to see how much each little line increases.