Idea 14of 22Builds onA kilometre is 1000 metres
Kilo, centi, milli: one pattern for every unit
Do grams and litres follow the same rules as metres?
Today you'll discover
- what each prefix means
- the same prefixes on grams and litres
- how they match place value
Think firstKilometre, centimetre, millimetre
A kilometre is 1000 metres. How many grams are in a kilogram?
Decide first, then press Next. Read the front part of each unit's name.
Seven boxes of length units, km to mm, with the prefixes kilo, hecto, deca, deci, centi, milli above them. Then the same row for grams, kg to mg, and for litres, kL to mL, with × 10 arrows between neighbours. Under the litre row, the place values: 1000 L thousand, 100 L hundred … 0.001 L thousandth. The last step asks how many milligrams make a gram.
See the whole ideathe big idea and the key word, in one place
The big idea
Kilo means 1000, centi one hundredth, milli one thousandth, for metres, grams and litres alike.
What the prefix says
The prefix tells the size, whatever is measured.
- kilo1000
- (none)1
- centi1/100
- milli1/1000
Not for timeTime does not follow this pattern: 60 seconds make a minute, not 10 or 100.
Key word
- prefix
- the front part of a unit's name that tells its size: kilo, centi, milli
Ready to use it?
- Use the prefix to say how many small units make a big one.