The Metric System

• Is used in nearly every country around the world.

• The United States of America doesn’t use the metric system for it’s primary measurement system.

Measure of Length

• The meter is the measure of length.

Measure of Mass (Weight)

• The gram is the measure of mass.• We most commonly use the kilogram.

Measure of Volume

• The liter is the measure of volume.

Measure of Time

• The unit of time is the second.

Measuring Temperature• The official unit of temperature is the

Kelvin. • You don’t have degrees Kelvin, you just

have Kelvins.• Kelvin is based on absolute zero.• We commonly use the Celsius scale

because it is based on freezing and boiling of water.

• Add 273 to change Celsius to Kelvin.

Derived Unit

• A unit formed from the combination of base units.

• Examples include m/s or g/cm3

Measuring Density

• Density is a ratio comparing the mass of an object to its volume.

• Density = mass / volume

Common Metric Prefixes

• When there is no prefix you have the base unit or 100; such as gram, meter, liter, etc.

• The most common prefixes are kilo, centi, and milli.

• Kilo is 103

• Centi is 10-2 • Milli is 10-3

Other Metric Prefixes

• Giga is 109 • Mega is 106 • Micro is 10-6, symbol for micro is u

Measure of Length

Millimeter (mm)

.1 cm .001 m .000001 km

Centimeter (cm)

10 mm .01 m .00001 km

Meter (m) 1000 mm 100 cm .001 km

Kilometer (km)

1,000,000 mm

100,000 cm

1000 m

Measure of Weight or Mass

Milligram (mg)

.1 cg .001 g .000001 kg

Centigram (cg)

10 mg .01 g .00001 kg

Gram (g) 1000 mg 100 cg .001 kg

Kilogram (kg)

1,000,000 mg 100,000 cg

1000 g

Measure of Volume

Milliliter (ml)

.1 cl .001 l .000001 kl

Centiliter (cl)

10 ml .01 l .00001 kl

Liter (l) 1000 ml 100 cl .001 kl

Kiloliter (kl)

1,000,000 ml 100,000 cl

1000 l