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Understanding Units of Measurement

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Understanding Units of Measurement

Tui, Wiremu and Finn are helping prepare a new history museum exhibit. Use metric units to solve each task. Show your working for conversions and word problems.

Choose a sensible unit

Use metric units commonly used in New Zealand: small lengths (mm), centimetres (cm), metres (m), kilometres (km), grams (g), kilograms (kg), millilitres (mL) and litres (L).

1.A tiny carved pendant is about 4 centimetres long. Which unit would be most useful for measuring its thickness: millimetres, metres or kilometres?

millimetres
metres
kilometres

2.The museum entrance is 2.1 metres high. Write this height in centimetres.

3.Wiremu packs an artefact weighing 1,250 grams. How many kilograms and grams is that?

The exhibit delivery

The museum has received a crate of objects. The marked number line below shows the distance from the museum to the storage building. Use it to answer Question 4.

4.The number line shows the route distance in kilometres. What distance is marked?

5.The crate contains 2.4 litres of water for cleaning. How many millilitres is this?

6.Tui measures a display plinth as 85 cm long. Finn says it is 0.85 m long. Is Finn correct? Explain using a conversion.

Sort, match and solve

Read each museum task carefully and select a unit that suits both the thing being measured and its size.

7.Match each object to the most suitable unit for measuring it.

Distance between two New Zealand cities
Mass of a small fossil
Capacity of a drink bottle
Length of a museum hall

metres
kilometres
grams
millilitres

8.A label needs to show the length of a 1.6 m carving in centimetres. Complete the label: 1.6 m = cm.

9.Finn pours 750 mL of water into a jug that already contains 500 mL. How much water is in the jug altogether? Give your answer in millilitres and litres.

10.The museum display case is 1.2 m wide. A 95 cm panel must fit inside it. How much wider is the case than the panel? Give your answer in centimetres.

11.Wiremu is measuring the length of a long museum corridor. Which is the most sensible unit, and why would using a very small unit be inconvenient?