How to do metric conversions:
K H D b d c m
(Kilo) (Hecto) (Deca) (base) (deci) (centi) (milli)
Converting metric values should be quick and easy! Here’s how. Above, are a bunch of letters. A great way to remember them is King Henry Died By Drinking Chocolate Milk. Each capital letter stands for one of the letters at the top of your page. “Base” stands for the basic unit you have heard of (i.e. meters, grams, or liters).
What if we want to convert 50 dm into Km?
Step 1:
Write your number with its units:
50 dm (this stands for 50 decimeters)
Step 2:
Identify where the decimal point is or should be in your number.
Ours should be to the right of the zero in 50à 50. dm
Step 3:
Locate the letter on the top of this page that matches the prefix of your units.
We are looking for decimeters, so deci will be the letter (d) that we start at.
Step 4:
Count how many letters you need to hop to get to the letter you want to convert into.
We want Kilometers so we have to go from the d to the K. If I put my finger at the d and jump from letter to letter, I will jump 4 times.
Also, take notice that you moved your hand to the left to do the jumping. The direction you move you hand in this step will help you in the next step.
Step 5:
Move the decimal the same amount of steps and in the same direction that you just moved it. Fill in any blank spaces with zeroes if it is necessary.
0.0050 Km ( I moved the decimal from the right side of the zero in 50 four times to the left to get the number you see here)