Metric Conversions Worksheet

Going UP the table move the decimal to the LEFT / k / kilo- / 1000 / 103
h / hecto- / 100 / 102
da / deca- / 10 / 101
/

NO PREFIX – BASE UNIT

/ 1 / 100
Going DOWN the table move the decimal to the RIGHT / d / deci- / / 10-1
c / centi- / / 10-2
m / milli- / / 10-3

Conversion Examples:

1.0 kg = ______mg kilo and milli differ by six zeros;

kilo à milli is going down the table;

1.000000 kg = 1 000 000 mg therefore move the decimal six places to the right

2.3 cm = ______m centi and no prefix differ by two zeros;

centi à no prefix is going up the table;

002.3 = 0.023 m therefore move the decimal two places to the left

PRACTICE PROBLEMS Write the shorthand of the
metric conversion scale below

1. Convert the following to grams (g):

Before converting / Move to left or right? / Number of spaces moved / After converting
2.5 mg / g
0.045 kg / g

2. Convert the following to metres (m):

Before converting / Move to left or right? / Number of spaces moved / After converting
15.6 mm / g
0.005 km / g

3. Convert the following:

75.4 cm = ______m / 975 mg = ______g
75.4 cm = ______mm / 975 mg = ______kg
32.3 s = ______ms / 4.0 L = ______mL
655 mm = ______m

4. Use the list of values provided to ESTIMATE the magnitude of each measurement in the table. In the column to the right, convert the numbers to meters and also in scientific notation.


The Values: 100 cm, 1.2 mm, 6380 km, 0.000 000 000 01 mm, 15.2 m, 500 km, 163 cm, 10 mm, 0.1 mm

Lengths / Value / Value in Meters / Scientific Notation
Radius of the Earth
Distance from Toronto to Montreal
Height of the school
Height of a student
Height of a desk
Thickness of sheet of paper
Width of tip of finger
Radius of gold nucleus
Diameter of tip of pen
Metric Conversions Practice Problems
1)18 mL = ______hL / 11)110 dam = ______dm
2)99 ms = ______s / 12)45 mg = ______hg
3)187 hm = ______mm / 13)105 dm = ______dam
4)36 dg = ______dag / 14)116 hJ = ______kJ
5)77 cm = ______mm / 15)152 cm = ______m
6)170 dJ = ______mJ / 16)145 km = ______cm
7)168 dm = ______km / 17)7 dL = ______daL
8)29 hg = ______mg / 18)156 ms = ______das
9)73 daL = ______mL / 19)49 km = ______dm
10)67 hm = ______dam / 20)110 dam = ______dm

Convert the Following

21) ______10 km to cm 24) ______100 m to km

22) ______1 x 106 ml to L 25) ______104 hg to mg

23) ______1 x 109 g to kg 26) ______6.5 cm to dm

27)  A grain of sand weighs 4.6 mg or ______g.

28)  The distance from Toronto to Montreal is approximately 550 km. How far is this in meters ______and in centimeters ______(use scientific notation)?

29)  The length of a caterpillar was measured to be 6.6 cm or ______mm.

Solve the Following

30)  10m + 12cm = ______m 32) 45 J - 80 dJ = ______J

31)  15 m x 5 km = ______m 33) 2000 g ÷ 1.5L = ______g/mL

Answers:
(1) 0.00018 hL; (2) 0.099 s; (3) 18700000 mm ; (4) 0.36 dag; (5) 770 mm; (6) 17000 mJ; (7) 0.0168 km; (8) 2900000 mg; (9) 730000 mL; (10) 670 dam; (11) 11000; (12) 0.00045; (13) 1.05 dam; (14) 11.6 kJ; (15) 1.52 m; (16) 14500000 cm; (17) 0.07 daL; (18) 1.56 ds; (19) 490000 dm; (20) 1610000 mL; (21) 1000000 cm 22) 1 L ; (23) 1 x 106 kg; (24) 0.100km; (25) 109 mg; (26) 0.00065dm; (27) 0.0046 g; (28) 550000m, 5.50 x 108cm; (29) 66mm; (30) 10.12m; (31) 75000m; (32) 37 J; (33) 1.3 g/mL

Practice Quiz on the Metric System and Powers of 10

1. Complete the chart below:

Measurement / Convert to Units Indicated / Measurement / Convert to Units Indicated
3 kg / g / 0.03 cm / km
0.543 s / ms / 0.0544 kL / mL
39 mg / kg / 6380 km / mm
60 hs / s / 5.43 dm / m

2. Write the following in proper scientific notation.

a) 0.0000031 = b) 23 200 000 000 000 =

b) 156.3 = c) 0.00465 =

d) 100 019 = e) 0.00005032 =

3. Convert the following in to standard notation:

a) 5.65 x 105 = b) 9.15 x 10-5 =

c) 2.123 x 10-2 = d) 5.874 x 106 =

e) 6.641 x 10-5 = f) 1.00578 x 103 =