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Understanding Units of Measurement

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Understanding Units of Measurement

Mere, Hemi and Charlotte are travelling around Aotearoa New Zealand. Use metric units, show working where asked, and include units in your answers.

Choose and convert units

Length

1 km = 1,000 m

1 m = 100 cm

Mass

1 kg = 1,000 g

1 tonne = 1,000 kg

Capacity

1 L = 1,000 mL

1 kL = 1,000 L

1.Mere checks the car’s height before entering a low-clearance car park. Which unit is most appropriate for recording the height: millimetres, kilometres, or tonnes?

Millimetres
Kilometres
Tonnes

2.At a roadside shop, Hemi sees a 750 g bag of coffee and a 1 kg bag. Which bag has the greater mass, and by how many grams?

3.Charlotte fills a water bottle with 1.35 L of water. Convert this amount to millilitres.

Plan the trip

4.The group has driven 86 km of a 120 km route. The number line shows the route from the start to the destination. Mark the distance already travelled with an X and write the remaining distance.

5.A road sign says the next town is 7.8 km away. Express this distance in metres.

6.The hire car’s luggage limit is 80 kg. The bags weigh 23.5 kg, 18 kg and 26.75 kg. How much mass capacity remains?

Measurement decisions

7.A recipe for a picnic lunch needs 0.6 L of milk. The carton is marked in millilitres. How many millilitres should the group measure?

8.The car uses 6.4 L of petrol for every 100 km. Estimate the petrol used over a 250 km drive, assuming the same rate throughout.

9.A New Zealand road distance is 42 km. A visitor suggests it is about 42 miles. Explain why these units cannot be treated as equal, and identify the unit normally used for road distances in New Zealand.

10.At a ferry terminal, a sign gives the vehicle limit as 3.2 tonnes. Convert this limit to kilograms. Then explain why converting units carefully matters when checking whether a vehicle is within the limit.