How Do Scientists Measure Things Page 3
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8UNDERSTANDING METRICS
In the United States, people usually use English units of measurement such as, ounces,
pounds, inches, and feet. Most other countries use metric units. Metric units include the
gram, kilogram, meter, and centimeter. Scientists also use the metric system. In science,
you will use mostly metric units.
The metric system is based upon units of ten. Each unit is ten times smaller or larger than
the next unit. This means that you can convert a measurement from one unit to another by
multiplying or dividing by ten. Prefixes describe a unit's value. The prefixes and their
meanings are listed below.
PREFIX
MEANING
kilo- [KILL-uh]
one thousand (1,000)
hecto- [HEC-tuh]
one hundred (100)
each, larger by
deca- [DEC-uh]
ten (10)
a multiple of
ten
deci- [DESS-ih]
one tenth (1/10)
centi- [SEN-tih]
one hundredth (1/100)
each, smaller
by a multiple
milli- [MILL-ih]
one thousandth (1/1,000)
of 1/10
Use the chart above to answer the following questions.
1. How many grams make up a kilogram? ___
10,100,1,000
2. How much of a meter is a centimeter? ___
1/10,1/100,1/1,000
3. How many times larger is a hectometer compared to a decameter?
10,100,1,000
4. How many times smaller is a millimeter compared to a decimeter?
10,100,1,000
5. Which prefix stands for a greater value?
a) deca- or kilo-? ___________
d) hecto- or kilo-?
b) kilo- or milli-? ___________
e) centi- or deci-?
c) centi- or milli-? ___________
f) deca- or deci-?
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