Metric System
1. Referred to as the International System of units or SI
2. Based on the number 10
3. Measuring system used by all scientist
4. Used to measure length, volume, mass, weight, density, and temperature.
Length
1. used to measure from one point to another
2. Basic Unit of length is the meter
· Kilometer – km
· Hectometer – hm
· Dekameter – dam
· Meter – m
· Decimeter – dm
· Centimeter – cm
· Millimeter – mm
3. In space, distance is measured in light years!
· This is the distance light travels in a year
Volume
1. volume is the amount of space an object takes up
2. basic unit of volume is the liter (L)
· kiloliter kL
· hectoliter hL
· dekaliter daL
· liter L
· deciliter dL
· centiliter cL
· milliliter mL
3. Large amounts of liquids are measured in liters
4. small amounts are measured in mL
5. solids are measured in cubic centimeters
· to calculate the volume of a solid = LxWxH
6. Most often used are the mL and the L
Mass
1. Mass is the amount of matter in an object
2. Basic unit of mass – gram (g)
3. Large objects are measured in kilogram (kg)
4. Small objects are measured in grams (g) or milligrams (mg)
· Kilogram - kg
· Hectogram - hg
· Dekagram - dag
· Gram - g
· Decigram - dg
· Centigram - cg
· Milligram - mg
Weight
1. Weight is the measure of attraction between objects due to gravity
2. Basic unit of weight is the Newton (N)
Density
1. Shows a relationship between mass and volume
2. To calculate density we divide mass by volume
3. Units for density depend on size of object
4. Large objects = kg/L
5. Small objects = g/mL
Temperature
1. Measured in degrees Celsius
2. Freezing = 0 degrees Celsius
3. Boiling = 100 degrees Celsius
Tools for Measuring
1. A metric ruler is used to find length
2. A graduated cylinder is used to find the volume of a liquid or an irregular solid
3. A metric ruler is used to find the volume of a rectangular object (l x w x h)
4. A triple beam balance is used to find the mass of an object.
Definitions of Prefixes
Kilo – 1000 kittens
Hecto – 100 hate
Deka – 10 dogs
Basic Unit because
Deci - .1 or 1/10 dogs
Centi - .01 or 1/100 can’t
Milli - .001 or 1/1000 meow