Converting From Unit Length to Unit Length - Metric System

Converting from one unit to another unit in the metric system for length.


Transcript

With Mr. J in this video, we're going to convert metric units of length, and we're specifically going to be working with millimeters, centimeters, meters, and kilometers. Now, our base unit of length for the metric system is a meter, so everything's going to be based on a meter, and we're going to use prefixes to create other units of length. Those prefixes will tell us what those units of length mean in comparison to that meter.

For example, a millimeter is one one-thousandth of a meter, so it takes a thousand millimeters to equal one meter. A centimeter is 1/100 of a meter, so it takes a hundred centimeters to equal one meter. Lastly, we have kilometer, and the prefix kilo means 1000, so it takes a thousand meters to equal a kilometer.

As a point of reference, a millimeter is about the thickness of a paper clip, a centimeter is about how wide the average pinky is or how wide a staple is, a meter is a little over a yard, and a kilometer is a little over a half mile.

Let's get into some conversions here:

  1. 3 meters equals how many centimeters? 1 meter is 100 centimeters, so we have 3x100 = 300 centimeters.
  2. 10 meters equals how many centimeters? Again, meters to centimeters multiplied by 100. Each meter is 100 centimeters, and we have ten of them, so 10x100 = 1000 centimeters.
  3. 9 kilometers equals how many meters? In one kilometer, there are 1000 meters, and we have nine of them, so 9x1000 = 9000 meters.
  4. 400 centimeters equals how many meters? Each meter is 100 centimeters, so we need to take 400 and split it into groups of 100. Each group of 100 equals a meter, so 400 divided by 100 = 4 meters.
  5. Millimeters to centimeters. There are 10 millimeters in 1 centimeter, so we need to divide 50 by 10 to get 5 centimeters.
  6. 8000 millimeters equals how many meters? There are 1000 millimeters in every meter, so we need to split that 8000 into groups of 1000. Each group of 1000 equals 1 meter, so 8000 divided by 1000 = 8 meters.

There you have it! These are some basic conversions within metric units of length, specifically millimeters, centimeters, meters, and kilometers. Thanks so much for watching, and until next time, please stay curious!

From Lesson: Measuring Length

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