Metric Units & Converting Between Them

Metric units are very nice to work with, since they are all multiples of
ten (or a hundred, or one-tenth, etc) of each other. You can convert
between the various different sizes by merely moving the decimal point
the correct number of places.

The basic metric units are meters (for length), grams (for mass or
weight), and liters (for volume). The different units convert into one
another rather nicely, with one milliliter equaling one cubic centimeter
(cc), and one gram being the weight of one cc of water.

There are many metric-unit prefixes, but the typical ones required by
schools include: kilo-, hecto-, deka-, deci-, centi-, and milli-. To convert
between the various metric unit prefixes, and thus the variously-sized
units, you just move across this list of prefixes, and move the decimal
point along too.

To remember the prefixes in order, you can use the following sentence:
King Henry Doesn't [Usually] Drink Chocolate Milk

The first letters of each word represent the metric units prefixes. The
word "Usually" is in the middle of the sentence. It stands for the "unit".
Unit can be meters, grams, or liters. Many mnemonics omit the word
"Usually". Consequently, students forget where the basic unit goes,
messing up their conversions. Include the word "Usually" in your
mnemonic so that you can keep things straight:

kilo- hecto- deka- [unit] deci- centi- milli-

Since each step is ten times or one-tenth as much as the step on either
side, we have:

1 kilometer = 10 hectometers = 100 dekameters = 1000 meters

= 10, 000 decimeters = 100, 000 centimeters = 1, 000, 000 millimeters
Alternatively, we have:

1 milliliter = 0.1 centiliters = 0.01 deciliters = 0.001 liters = 0.000

1 dekaliters
= 0.000 01 hectoliters = 0.000 001 kiloliters

The point to make here, is that you move from one metric unit prefix to
another. You do this by moving the decimal point one place, filling in,
as necessary, with the zeroes. To move to a smaller unit, you move the
decimal place to the right that same number of places, and vice versa.
Together with the prefix sentence ("King Henry..."), this makes
conversion between the different metric sizes very simple.

That's all there is to metric conversions. As long as you keep the metric
unit prefixes in the correct order, you'll be fine. Just count the number of
spaces you must move and make sure the direction of your movement is
correct. Next move the decimal point in the same direction with the
same number of places.

or
 Vocabulary
Convert

Definition:
1. to change (something) into a different form or so that it can be used in a
different way

2. a person who has recently been persuaded to join a religious sect

Origin: Middle English, from Anglo-French convertir, from Latin convertere to

turn around

Part of Speech: Verb

Synonyms: alter, change, substitute

Antonyms: deter

Sentence: Before I travel to Mexico, I will need to convert dollars into pesos.

Mnemonics

Definition: A device such as a pattern of letters, ideas, or associations that assists

in remembering something.

Origin: Greek mnēmonikos, mindful

Part of Speech: Adjective

Synonyms: clue, hint, idea, suggestion

Sentence: HOMES is used as a mnemonic for the names of the Great Lakes:
Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior.
Alternatively

Definition: offering or expressing a choice

Part of Speech: Adjective

Synonyms: choice, election, preference

Sentence: We could meet at the library or, alternatively, we could all meet at my
house.

Vice Versa

Definition: used to say that the opposite of a statement is also true

Origin: Latin

Part of Speech: Adverb

Sentence: She ended up having a lot of influence on his career, and vice versa.
(and he also ended up having a lot of influence on her career)
Convert

Mnemonic
Alternatively

or

Vice versa