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Metric Measurements

Maths: Year 3 & 4 National Curriculum, topic 6.1.1

Metric Measurements

Metric measurements are the different measures you use to weigh things, measure lengths and measure volumes. There are a large variety of measurements that you use on a daily basis:

Measuring lengths

Measuring lengths

  • Some of the different measurements used to measure length are:
  • Millimetre (mm) - the leaf was 9 mm wide.
  • Centimetre (cm) - the ruler was 30 cm long.
  • Metre (m) - the table was 1 m wide.
  • Kilometre (km) - the house was 1 km away.
Measuring mass

Measuring mass

  • Some of the different measurements used to measure mass are:
  • Grams (g) - the recipe needed 300 g of flour.
  • Kilograms (kg) - the man weighed 70 kg.
Measuring capacity (volume)

Measuring capacity (volume)

  • Some of the different measurements used to measure capacity (volume) are:
  • Millilitres (ml) - the juice carton contained 200 ml of juice.
  • Centilitres (cl) - The glass held 25 cl of water.
  • Litres (l) - there was 1 l of milk left in the fridge.

Converting Measures

You need to be confident in multiplying and dividing by tens, hundreds and thousands to convert between different metric measurements.

Millimetres and centimetres

Millimetres and centimetres

  • There are 10 mm in 1 cm.
  • To convert from mm to cm, you need to divide by 10.
  • To convert from cm to mm, you need to multiply by 10.
    • 40 mm = 4 cm
    • 2 cm = 20 mm
Centimetres and metres

Centimetres and metres

  • There are 100 cm in 1 m.
  • To convert from cm to m, you need to divide by 100.
  • To convert from m to cm, you need to multiply by 100.
    • 500 cm = 5 m
    • 8 m = 800 cm
Metres and kilometres

Metres and kilometres

  • There are 1,000 m in 1 km.
  • To convert from m to km, you need to divide by 1,000.
  • To convert from km to m, you need to multiply by 1,000.
    • 7,000 m = 7 km
    • 2 km = 2,000 m

Test yourself on Metric Measurements

  • What unit of length would be best to use to measure the distance between two cities?

  • What unit of mass would be best to use to measure the mass of a rhino?

  • What unit of capacity (volume) would be best to use to measure the capacity (volume) of a swimming pool?

  • What is 5 km in metres?

  • What is 6 m in centimetres?

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