The Metric System

Physical science- the study of matter and energy 

Matter- anything that has mass and takes up space

Mass- the amount of material an object has

*You can not hold energy or measure it with a ruler; mass can be measured and held

Chemistry- the study of matter and how it changes

*By studying chemistry, scientists have made new medicines, food, clothing, fragrances, soaps, artificial skin and bones

Physics- the study of how energy acts with matter

*By studying physics, scientists have developed TVs, cell phones, stereos, computers, satellites, microwaves, and jets

Unit- a known amount used for measuring

  English system- system of measurement that uses inches, feet, and yards

  Metric system- system of measurement used by scientists

*Egyptians used the cubit to measure length. A cubit was the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger

  *Romans used the width of their thumbs to measure length called an uncia

  *Scientists and most other people throughout the world use the metric system

Meter- the basic unit of length in the metric system

Meter stick- a common tool for measuring the length in the metric system

  *The abbreviation for meter is m; the abbreviation for centimeter is cm; the abbreviation for millimeter is mm; the abbreviation for kilometer is km

Conversions Meanings

10 mm = 1 cm1000 mm = 1 m100 cm = 1 m1000 m = 1 km

1 cm is 1/100 m1 mm is 1/1000 m1 km is 1000 m

kilo means 1000

centi means 1/100 (.01)

milli means 1/1000 (.001)

Area- amount of space the surface of an object takes up

  area = length x width = 3.3 mm x 8.5 mm = 28.05 square mm or 28.05 mm²

3.3mm

8.5 mm

Volume- the amount of space an object takes up

  Liter- basic unit of volume in the metric system

volume of a liquid 1000 mL = 1 L 1000 L = 1 kL 1 L = 1000 cm³ 1 mL = 1 cm³

 volume of a rectangle =

length x width x height = 3 cm x 5 cm x 2 cm = 30 cm³ or 30 cubic centimeters  

3 cm 2 cm

5 cm

Gram- basic unit of mass in the metric system

  *1 gram is about the mass of a paper clip 

*1 kg = 1000 g 1000 mg = 1 g

*1 L = 1000 g or 1 kg 1000 cm³ = 1000 g or 1 kg

Scientific notation is a way of expressing really big numbers or really small numbers.

It is most often used in “scientific” calculations where the analysis must be very precise.

A number between 1 and 10

A power of 10

N x 10x

Place the decimal point so that there is one non-zero digit to the left of the decimal point.

Count the number of decimal places the decimal point has “moved” from the original number. This will be the exponent on the 10.

If the original number was less than 1, then the exponent is negative. If the original number was greater than 1, then the exponent is positive.

Given: 289,800,000Use: 2.898 (moved 8 places)Answer: 2.898 x 108

Given: 0.000567Use: 5.67 (moved 4 places)Answer: 5.67 x 10-4

Simply move the decimal point to the right for positive exponent 10.

Move the decimal point to the left for negative exponent 10.

(Use zeros to fill in places.)

Given: 5.093 x 106

Answer: 5,093,000 (moved 6 places to the right)

Given: 1.976 x 10-4

Answer: 0.0001976 (moved 4 places to the left)