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1. Conversion of Units
of Measurement
(Metric)
www.edgalaxy.com – Cool stuff for Nerdy teachers.

2. Session 1: Measuring Length
• All of these activities are based around measuring length,
width and height in metric units.

3. Understanding the Metric System
The beauty of the metric system is that it is based on the number 10.
• The diagram below shows you a section of a metric ruler.
• Each numbered line represents one centimetre.
• Each small mark after the numbered lines represents one tenth of a
centimetre.
• The larger mark between numbered lines represents five tenths of a
centimetre.
• This allows you to easily see the number of lines over the whole
centimetre that an object measures.
In the metric system, we always use decimals, never fractions.

4. Understanding Metric Language
• You will regularly see these prefixes when discussing the
metric system.
• Kilo – 1,000
• Centi – 1/100th Circle the smallest unit
• Milli – 1/1000th
• Example: 1,000 millimetres = 1 meter
• As a class group see how many examples of these prefixes
we hear regularly and write them up on the board: ie: A
Millennium is 1000 year time period.

5. The Metric System
• The basic unit of length in the metric system in the meter and is
represented by a lowercase m.
• Standard: The distance traveled by light in absolute vacuum in
1⁄299,792,458 of a second.
Metric Units
1 Kilometer (km) = 1000 meters
1 Meter = 100 Centimeters (cm)
1 Meter = 1000 Millimeters (mm)
Which is larger?
A. 1 meter or 105 centimeters C. 12 centimeters or 102 millimeters
B. 4 kilometers or 4400 meters D. 1200 millimeters or 1 meter

6. Session 1 Task
• As a class we are going to measure a couple of items.
• But first we need to decide which units would be best suited
for measuring the following?
• Eraser
• Right Shoe
• Arm span.
• Discuss this as a class and come up with an agreed unit for each
one.

7. Session 1 Task
• Go through as a group and record each of the items on the
previous slide up on your board in a table.
• Once the table has been completed we need to tally all of
these up in their original units of measurement.
• Have a class discussion about whether they are still valid units
of measurement when they are grouped. Yes, No? Why?

8. Session 1 Task
• Students then need to record the class results in the following
formats.
• Millimetres.
• Centimetres.
• Metres.
• Kilometres.
• Depending on what you are converting you will need to divide
or multiply. For example if I am converting 4590mm to metres
I need to divide it by 1000 as there are 1000mm in 1 metre.
• Students should not need a calculator for this as it is purely a
case of adding a decimal point or removing zeros to complete
this task depending on your conversion facts.
• Refer to slide 4 for all conversions if you are unsure.

9. Session 1: Extension
• The metric system is not the only unit of measurement used
around the world. Do some research to find out that the
other system is and then complete the following conversions.
• 1 Gallon = Litres
• Inch = Millimetres
• 1 Mile = Kilometres
Which method do you think is more effective and why?

10. Session 2: Measuring Mass
• Now that we have an understanding of the basics of the
metric system and measurement of length we will now turn
our attention to mass and also touch on money and it’s
relationship to the metric system.

11. Metric Mass
• Kilo – 1,000
• Centi – 1/100th Circle the smallest unit
• Milli – 1/1000th
• Example: 1,000 millimetres = 1 meter
• 1 Gram is the weight of 1 millimetre of water. Remember this.
• Todays lesson will use the same prefixes as the previous ones
but we will now be talking in litres to measure liquids and
grams and tonnes to measure weight.

12. Quick Warm up – litres or mls.
• 1. Mr. Franklin filled a bucket with water to clean his floor. Does his
bucket probably hold 9 litres or 9 millilitres of water?
• 2. A baker adds half of a teaspoon of vanilla to her cake recipe. Did
she use 2.5 L or 2.5 mL of vanilla?
• 3. Chris bought a cup of hot chocolate. Does his cup probably hold
400 litres or 400 millilitres of hot chocolate?
• 4. Kelly bought juice for her friends to drink at her birthday party.
Did she probably buy 5 L of juice of 5 mL?
• 5. Miss Marge has a large fish tank in her office. Does her fish tank
hold 100 litres or 100 mL of water?

13. Grams or Litres?
• Which unit is most applicable for the following.
• Liquid in a tea cup
• A Brick
• A Tennis Racquet
• An Adult Human
• A shipping Container
• An Olympic Swimming Pool.

14. My Body Task
• Using a set of scales and a tape measure students are to
measure their weight and height.
• We will use this measurement as the basis to compare student
body measurements to everyday items.
• Here is an example: John is 60kg and 150cms tall.
• A can of Baked beans is 4 cm tall and weighs 250g – Who
many cans of baked beans would it take to equal John’s height
and weight.
• Height: 150 cm ÷ 4cm = 37.5 John is 37.5 Baked Bean cans tall
• Weight. 60kg ÷ 0.25g = 240 John weighs 240 Baked Bean cans

15. Items to Compare
• Height Weight
• Baked Beans 4cm 250gms
• Bottled Water 30 cm 1.5 litres
• Tennis Balls 6.4 cm 70gms
• iPhones 9mm (wide) 140gms
• Grain of Rice 2mm 1gm
• Toyota Yaris. 170cm 940kg
• African Elephant 3.4 metres 6 tonnes
• Titanic 292 metres 64,000 tonnes
(You may use a calculator for some of these if your teacher gives
you permission.)

16. Building Challenge
For this Challenge you need to determine how expensive it will be to
build and extension to your house. (You can do this in pairs – it might
take a while.)
Your Extension will consist of a living room of 6 metres by 8 metres
and an outdoor deck of 8 metres by 4 metres. The living room is also 2
metres high.
• You will need 8 Metres of Curtains at $23.65 per sq. metre.
• Carpet for the living room will cost you $42.66 per sq. metre.
• Paint for the room is $59.80 a tin and says it will cover 24 square
metres. You will need 2 coats. How many Tins will you use? How
much will that cost?
• Decking is 90 mm wide and costs $3.65 per linear metre. How much
will you need and how much will it cost?
• What is the total expense for your house extension. Please show all
working out.

17. Upper Extension: The Fuel Challenge – Part 1
Shelby, Jordan, Kyle, Victoria, Anthony, and Makayla each have a
car. Each car has a different fuel economy (60 kilometres per
litre, 95 kilometres per litre, 45 kilometres per litre, 100
kilometres per litre, 35 kilometres per litre and 65 kilometres
per litre).
The price of regular gasoline is $0.50 per litter and the price of
ultra gas is $0.64 per litter.
Figure out the fuel economy and the owner of each car.
Work these out in pairs and write your answers in your maths
book.

18. Upper Extension: The Fuel Challenge – Part 2
1: Shelby and Jordan both drove their cars from Atlanta to
Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is 1,127 kilometres from Atlanta. Shelby
needed 13.4 more litters of gas than Jordan.
2: The fuel cost for Anthony to drive roundtrip between Chicago
and El Paso was $30.98. Anthony fills up his car with ultra gas. It
is 2,415 kilometres between Chicago and El Paso.
3: Victoria's car fuel economy is 8% more efficient than Jordan's
car.
4: Kyle estimates that he will drive 17,000 kilometres next year
and have an annual fuel cost of $114.56. Kyle uses ultra gas.
5: The fuel cost for Makayla to drive roundtrip between Atlanta
and New Orleans was $22.91. Makayla fills up her car with ultra
gas. It is 804 kilometres between Atlanta and New Orleans.

19. Session 3 - Reflection
• Explaining the units of measurement: Students are to use
their maths journals to explain the relationship between
grams, kilograms and tonnes and also grams, centimetres and
metres and kilometres.
• They are visually demonstrated this by showing which units of
measurement would be most effective for measuring specific
items.
• They are to visually represent one of their ‘My body Findings’
in their journals.