Metric Prefixes
Metric prefixes are quite important for making sure you are using measurements of the appropriate size. There are many prefixes, some smaller than the base and some larger. The three base units are meter, gram, and liter. The basic prefixes commonly used in middle school science are milli- (m), centi- (c), deci- (d), deka- (da), hecto- (h), and kilo- (k). The first three are smaller than the base, the last three larger. Milli- is a prefix meaning one thousandth of a unit. For example, 1000 millimeters is one meter. Centi- means one hundredth of a unit. Deci- is one tenth of a unit, but deka is 10 units. For example, while 10 decimeters are equal to one meter, 10 meters are equal to 1 dekameter. Hecto- is a prefix signifying 100 base units. The largest prefix commonly used in middle school science is kilo, which means 1000 base units. A chart to help with this is included below:
Metric Length
The base unit for metric length is a meter, which has the symbol m. One meter is just over three Conventional feet, or one Conventional yard. Tools used to measure meters are meter sticks and metric rulers. Usually, an object like a pencil would be measured in centimeters, while a distance like the distance from Chicago to Boston would be measured in kilometers.
Metric Mass
The base unit for metric mass is a gram, which has the symbol g. 28 grams are equal to about one Conventional ounce, or one sixteenth of a Conventional pound. Tools used to measure mass are electronic balances and triple-beam balances. As with length, it would be more appropriate to use smaller prefixes for smaller objects and larger ones to measure the mass of larger objects.
metric volume
The base unit for volume is a Liter, which has the symbol L. One Liter is equal to approximately one Conventional quart, or one quarter of a gallon. Tools used to measure volume are graduated beakers and graduated cylinders. Graduated beakers are good for more approximate measurements, while graduated cylinders can be very exact. Once again, one should use prefixes such as milli- and centi- for smaller amounts of liquid and prefixes such as kilo- or hecto- for larger amounts.