Name: ______Date: ______

Conversion Chart

Distance

/ Mass/Weight/Volume / Time
100 cm = 1m / 1 kg = 2.2 lbs / 1 min = 60 seconds
1000mm = 1m / 1 kg = 1000 g / 1 hour = 60 minutes
1000m = 1 km / 1 lb = 16 oz / 1 day = 24 hours
1 yard = 3 ft / 1 oz = 28.35 g / 1 year = 365.25 days
1 mile = 1.61 km / 1L = 1.056 qt
3.3 ft = 1 m (meter) / 1000 ml = 1 L
1ft = 12 in / 1 ml= .0338 fl oz
1 in = 2.54 cm / 1 qt = 2 pints

SI Prefixes

Prefix / Abbreviation / Scientific notation / Equal to this many base units
tera / T / 1 x 1012 / 1,000,000,000,000
giga / G / 1 x 109 / 1,000,000,000
mega / M / 1 x 106 / 1,000,000
kilo / k / 1 x 103 / 1,000
hecto / h / 1 x 102 / 100
deka / da / 1 x 101 / 10
Base unit / Whatever unit / 1 / 1
deci / d / 1 x 10-1 / .1
centi / c / 1 x 10-2 / .01
milli / m / 1 x 10-3 / .001
micro / m / 1 x 10-6 / .000001
nano / n / 1 x 10-9 / .000000001
pico / p / 1 x 10-12 / .000000000001

Base units could be meters (m), grams (g), liters (L)

A picogram is written as pg

A millimeter is written as mm

A gigaliter is written as GL

A megagram is written as Mg

To convert:

1)  You can move the decimal (B=Base Unit)

T G M k h da B d c m m n p

For example:

To go from meters (a base unit) to hectometers (hm).

1.  You start at meters (the B).

2.  Count the places to hecto (2)

3.  Move the decimal to the left 2 places.

1 meter = .01 hectometers

To go from kilograms (kg) to centigrams (cg):

1.  You start at kilo (k)

2.  Count the places to centi (c) That is 5 places.

3.  Moce the decimal to the right 5 places.

3 kilograms (kg) = 300,000 centigrams

Also to convert…

2)  You can do factor labeling.

When changing from smaller to larger units, the number of units will __?__

When changing from larger to smaller units, the number of units will __?__

Apply what you learned to complete these metric conversions:

7meters(m) = _____ kilometers(km) 85 Liters(L) = ______kiloliters(kL)

2.3 L = ______milliliters(mL) 3.2 kilograms(kg) = ______grams(g)

1750 g = _____ kg 250 centimeters(cm) = ______m

What is the best metric unit to measure how much something weighs?

1.  Convert 145 km into Gm (gigameters)

2.  Convert 156215 hours into years

3.  Convert 35 qt into mL

4.  Convert your weight in pounds to ounces (oz)

5.  Convert your age into milliseconds

Conversion Challenge

Write the correct abbreviation for each metric unit.

1) Kilogram _____ 4) Milliliter _____ 7) Kilometer _____

2) Meter _____ 5) Millimeter _____ 8) Centimeter _____

3) Gram _____ 6) Liter _____ 9) Milligram _____

Try these conversions, using the ladder method.

1) 2000 mg = ______g 6) 5 L = ______mL 11) 16 cm = ______mm

2) 104 km = ______m 7) 198 g = ______kg 12) 2500 m = ______km

3) 480 cm = _____ m 8) 75 mL = _____ L 13) 65 g = _____ mg

4) 5.6 kg = _____ g 9) 50 cm = _____ m 14) 6.3 cm = _____ mm

5) 8 mm = _____ cm 10) 5.6 m = _____ cm 15) 120 mg = _____ g

Compare using <, >, or =.

16) 63 cm ___ 6 m 17) 5 g____ 508 mg 18) 1,500 mL_____ 1.5L

19) 536 cm _____ 53.6 dm 20) 43 mg ____ 5 g 21) 3.6 m ____36 cm

Answer these using unit conversions.

22) Convert 32.3 cm to inches.

23) Convert 465 liters to cubic feet.

24) A murder victim weighs 150 pounds. How much does he weigh in grams?

25) You are given 3 yards of tape to make evidence labels. How many labels 20 cm in length can you make?


Practice with Scientific Notation and Powers of Ten

26) Convert the following numbers into scientific notation.

a)  100

b)  10,000

c)  10,000,000

d)  0.001

e)  0.000001

f)  0.1

g)  1

27) Arrange the following numbers, written as powers of 10, from the smallest to the largest:

100, 10-14, 102, 10-3, 10-7, 104, 10-9, 105 , -10

28) Convert the following to scientific notation:

a)  4,256

b)  6,234,000

c)  0.0026

d)  0.00005689

e)  24,5000

f)  0.00000000012

g)  3.405

h)  7,000,000,000

Write the following numbers in standard notation.

29)  6.5 x 10–5

30)  3.22 x 109

31)  8.314 x103

32) 4.08 x 10-12

20) Identify the type of notation, standard or scientific, that would make the most sense for each situation below. Explain.

  1. The length of a football field measured in inches…
  1. The mass of an apple in pounds…
  1. The mass of an ocean liner in pounds…
  1. The length of a fingerprint in centimeters…
  1. The diameter of a hair shaft in centimeters…
  1. The amount of blood found pooled beside a victim’s head in gallons…
  1. The number of fibers found as trace evidence under the victims fingernails.

Practice Unit Conversion Problems

21) 104 mm into cm

22) 962 cm into km

23) Convert 54 mL to cubic centimeters.

24) Calculate the number of seconds in 3.6 years.

25) Measure your height in inches; then convert it to centimeters.

26) A tire impression left in the mud at a crime scene was 8.7 inches wide. Convert this to centimeters.

27) A murder suspect was found 200 miles from the crime scene 150 minutes after the time of death. Assuming he actually committed the murder, how fast (in miles per hour) would he have had to drive in his getaway car? Given this information, is he a realistic suspect?

28) How many 325 mg tablets can be produced from 2.50 kg of ibuprofen?

29) A crime suspect fled the scene when police officers entered the building. The police are planning to set up a search, but need to know a realistic search radius. How far could he run in 10 minutes if he can run 5 miles per hour?

30) One baked potato provides an average of 31.0 mg of vitamin C. If 5.0 lb. of potatoes has 15 potatoes, how many milligrams of vitamin C are provided per pound of potatoes?

31) Forensic scientists must be careful to avoid communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS. In body fluids such as blood or saliva, the HIV virus can survive over 15 days at room temperature and longer if refrigerated. How many hours can the HIV virus survive in liquid at room temperature?

32) The tread on a suspect’s car tire is worn to 1/16th of an inch. Convert this to millimeters.