Main content
5th grade
Unit 14: Lesson 2
Converting metric units- Converting units: metric distance
- Converting units: centimeters to meters
- Convert units (metrics)
- Metric units of mass review (g and kg)
- Metric units of length review (mm, cm, m, & km)
- Metric units of volume review (L and mL)
- U.S. customary and metric units
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Metric units of length review (mm, cm, m, & km)
Review the size of millimeters, centimeters, meters, and kilometers and how to convert between them. Then, try some practice problems.
Summary of metric units of distance
Kilometer | Meter | Centimeter | Millimeter |
---|---|---|---|
start color #e07d10, 1, end color #e07d10 | 1000 | 100, comma, 000 | 1, comma, 000, comma, 000 |
start fraction, 1, divided by, 1000, end fraction | start color #e07d10, 1, end color #e07d10 | 100 | 1000 |
start fraction, 1, divided by, 100, comma, 000, end fraction | start fraction, 1, divided by, 100, end fraction | start color #e07d10, 1, end color #e07d10 | 10 |
What is distance?
Distance measures length. For example, the distance of a road is how long the road is.
In the metric system of measurement, the most common units of distance are millimeters, centimeters, meters, and kilometers.
How big are metric units of distance?
A paper clip is about 1 millimeter thick.
A fingernail is about 1 centimeter wide.
The length of a guitar is about 1 meter.
A kilometer is equal to 1000 meters. It is a little over half of a mile.
Want to learn more about metric units of distance? Check out this video.
Converting larger units to smaller units
1, start text, space, c, e, n, t, i, m, e, t, e, r, end text, equals, start color #1fab54, 10, end color #1fab54, start text, space, m, i, l, l, i, m, e, t, e, r, s, end text
1, start text, space, m, e, t, e, r, end text, equals, start color #1fab54, 100, end color #1fab54, start text, space, c, e, n, t, i, m, e, t, e, r, s, end text
1, start text, space, m, e, t, e, r, end text, equals, start color #1fab54, 1, comma, 000, end color #1fab54, start text, space, m, i, l, l, i, m, e, t, e, r, s, end text
1, start text, space, k, i, l, o, m, e, t, e, r, end text, equals, start color #1fab54, 1, comma, 000, end color #1fab54, start text, space, m, e, t, e, r, s, end text
1, start text, space, m, e, t, e, r, end text, equals, start color #1fab54, 100, end color #1fab54, start text, space, c, e, n, t, i, m, e, t, e, r, s, end text
1, start text, space, m, e, t, e, r, end text, equals, start color #1fab54, 1, comma, 000, end color #1fab54, start text, space, m, i, l, l, i, m, e, t, e, r, s, end text
1, start text, space, k, i, l, o, m, e, t, e, r, end text, equals, start color #1fab54, 1, comma, 000, end color #1fab54, start text, space, m, e, t, e, r, s, end text
To convert larger units to smaller units we multiply the number of larger units by the green conversion factor for the appropriate smaller units.
Example: Converting meters to centimeters:
1, start text, space, m, e, t, e, r, end text, equals, start color #1fab54, 100, end color #1fab54, start text, space, c, e, n, t, i, m, e, t, e, r, s, end text
start color #11accd, 11, end color #11accd, start text, space, m, e, t, e, r, s, end text, equals, start color #11accd, 11, end color #11accd, times, start color #1fab54, 100, end color #1fab54, equals, start color #11accd, 11, end color #11accd, start color #1fab54, 00, end color #1fab54, start text, space, c, e, n, t, i, m, e, t, e, r, s, end text
start color #11accd, 11, end color #11accd, start text, space, m, e, t, e, r, s, end text, equals, start color #11accd, 11, end color #11accd, times, start color #1fab54, 100, end color #1fab54, equals, start color #11accd, 11, end color #11accd, start color #1fab54, 00, end color #1fab54, start text, space, c, e, n, t, i, m, e, t, e, r, s, end text
Converting smaller units to larger units
To convert smaller units to larger units we divide the number of smaller units by the purple conversion factor for the appropriate larger units.
Example: Converting meters to kilometers:
Want to learn more about converting between metric units of distance? Check out this video.
Practice set 2: Converting distance units
Want to try more problems like this? Check out these exercises:
Convert larger units to smaller units
Converting between units
Convert larger units to smaller units
Converting between units
Want to join the conversation?
- I have one tree that is 4 meters tall a second tree that is 3 m tall how many centimeters taller is the first tree(9 votes)
- 400cm(b/c 100cm equals 1 meter, so 4 times 100 equals 400cm ;)(2 votes)
- Does anyone know how long 1 meter = ----- kilometer and how long 1 kilometer = -----meter(8 votes)
- The prefix 'kilo' means 1000, so there are 1000 meters for every kilometer and there are 0.001 kilometers for every meter.(2 votes)
`if (x < 0) {thanks
(8 votes)- I get messed up with km to mm.(6 votes)
- Converting from km to m requires multiplying by 1,000, because there are 1,000 m in one km.
Converting m to mm requires multiplying by 1,000, because there are 1,000 mm in one m.
It follows from these two facts that converting from km to mm requires multiplying by 1,000*1,000=1,000,000.
Have a blessed, wonderful day!(3 votes)
- How many kilometers in a mile?(2 votes)
- What about kilometers to miles ?(4 votes)
- Good question!
To convert from kilometers to miles, divide by 1.609344. For approximate calculations, dividing by 1.6 is good.
Have a blessed, wonderful day!(2 votes)
- Is there such thing as a decimeter?(4 votes)
- Yes! A decimeter is 1/10 of a meter. This also means a decimeter is 10 centimeters, and a decimeter is 100 millimeters.(2 votes)
- how to convert kilometers to mile ?(3 votes)
- In order to convert kilometers to miles, you plug in the kilometer value and multiply that by 0.621371. But, you won't have to do that on your questions because that is changing from the metric to the customary system. To change from miles to km, plug in the miles and multiply that by 1.60934. As you see, a mile is a much larger distance than kilometers. Hopefully this answered your question, but remember, you won't have to worry about changing measurement systems in that specific practice.(3 votes)
- What about nanometers(4 votes)
- Interesting question! A nanometer is one billionth (that is, 1/1,000,000,000) of a meter.
Wavelengths of light are often measured in nanometers. The wavelengths of the visible spectrum of light range from 400 to 700 nanometers.
Have a blessed, wonderful day!(1 vote)
- This was easy and what about micrometers(1 vote)