Introduction to Metric Units of Length

Hello, Year 5! Today, we are going to learn about metric units of length. This is an important topic because it helps us measure how long or short something is. Let’s dive in!

What Are Metric Units?

Metric units are a way to measure length in a standard way. The most common metric units of length are:

  • Millimetre (mm): This is a tiny unit. There are 1,000 millimetres in a metre.
  • Centimetre (cm): This is bigger than a millimetre. There are 100 centimetres in a metre.
  • Metre (m): This is the base unit of length in the metric system.
  • Kilometre (km): This is used for longer distances. There are 1,000 metres in a kilometre.

Key Rules

  1. Conversion: To change between units, you can use multiplication or division.
    • To go from millimetres to centimetres, divide by 10.
    • To go from centimetres to millimetres, multiply by 10.
    • To go from metres to centimetres, multiply by 100.
    • To go from centimetres to metres, divide by 100.
    • To go from metres to kilometres, divide by 1,000.
    • To go from kilometres to metres, multiply by 1,000.
  2. Visualising Lengths: It can help to compare lengths using everyday objects. For example:
    • A centimetre is about the width of a large paperclip.
    • A metre is about the height of a door handle.
    • A kilometre is about ten football pitches lined up end to end.

Tips and Tricks

  • Remember the prefixes: The prefix tells you how big the unit is. “Kilo-” means 1,000, “centi-” means 1/100th, and “milli-” means 1/1,000th.
  • Use a ruler: A ruler can help you measure in millimetres and centimetres easily.
  • Practice converting: The more you practice converting between units, the easier it will become!

Questions

Easy Level (20 Questions)

  1. How many millimetres are in 1 centimetre?
  2. How many centimetres are there in 1 metre?
  3. What is longer: 2 metres or 200 centimetres?
  4. How many metres are in 1 kilometre?
  5. Is 50 millimetres longer than 5 centimetres?
  6. Convert 150 centimetres to metres.
  7. Is a metre longer than a yard?
  8. How many millimetres are in 1 metre?
  9. Convert 2.5 metres to centimetres.
  10. What is the length of a pencil in centimetres?
  11. How many kilometres are in 5,000 metres?
  12. Is 10 kilometres longer than 1 mile?
  13. How many centimetres are in 50 millimetres?
  14. Convert 3 metres to millimetres.
  15. What unit would you use to measure the length of a school bus?
  16. How many millimetres are in 2 centimetres?
  17. Is 75 millimetres longer than 7 centimetres?
  18. How many millimetres are in 3 metres?
  19. Convert 4 metres to kilometres.
  20. If a book is 20 centimetres tall, how many millimetres is that?

Medium Level (20 Questions)

  1. Convert 1.2 metres to centimetres.
  2. How many centimetres are in 3.5 metres?
  3. If a soccer field is 100 metres long, how many centimetres is that?
  4. Convert 250 millimetres to centimetres.
  5. How many kilometres are in 1500 metres?
  6. If a car is 4.5 metres long, how many millimetres is that?
  7. A pencil is 15 cm long. How many millimetres is that?
  8. Convert 0.8 kilometres to metres.
  9. If a rope is 300 cm long, how long is that in metres?
  10. How many millimetres are in 2.5 metres?
  11. If a cat is 25 cm long, how many millimetres is that?
  12. What is longer: 600 cm or 6 metres?
  13. Convert 3 kilometres to metres.
  14. A garden is 45 m long. How many centimetres is that?
  15. How many millimetres are in 4.2 metres?
  16. If a table is 150 cm wide, how many millimetres is that?
  17. Convert 2,500 mm to metres.
  18. How many centimetres are in 0.5 kilometres?
  19. If a person is 1.7 m tall, how many centimetres is that?
  20. Is 500 mm longer than 4 cm?

Hard Level (20 Questions)

  1. Convert 5.5 metres to millimetres.
  2. A race track is 2.5 km long. How many metres is that?
  3. If a tree is 3.2 metres tall, how many centimetres is that?
  4. Convert 1250 mm to metres.
  5. If a marathon is 42 km long, how many metres is that?
  6. How many centimetres are in 150 mm?
  7. If a room is 4.8 m long, how many millimetres is that?
  8. Convert 0.75 km to metres.
  9. A swimming pool is 25 m long. How many centimetres is that?
  10. If a book is 3.5 cm thick, how many millimetres is that?
  11. Convert 60 cm to millimetres.
  12. If a plane travels 10 km, how many metres did it travel?
  13. A fence is 2.4 m long. Convert that to centimetres.
  14. If a tree is 90 cm tall, how many millimetres is that?
  15. Convert 1,500 mm to kilometres.
  16. A bridge is 1.2 km long. How many metres is that?
  17. If a cat is 0.6 m long, how many centimetres is that?
  18. Convert 200 cm to millimetres.
  19. How many millimetres are in 0.25 m?
  20. If a ribbon is 1.2 m long, how many millimetres is that?

Answers

Easy Level Answers

  1. 10 mm
  2. 100 cm
  3. 2 metres
  4. 1,000 m
  5. Yes
  6. 1.5 m
  7. Yes
  8. 1,000 mm
  9. 250 cm
  10. (Varies, e.g., 15 cm)
  11. 5 km
  12. Yes
  13. 5 cm
  14. 3,000 mm
  15. Metres
  16. 20 mm
  17. Yes
  18. 3,000 mm
  19. 0.004 km
  20. 200 mm

Medium Level Answers

  1. 120 cm
  2. 350 cm
  3. 10,000 cm
  4. 25 cm
  5. 1.5 km
  6. 4,500 mm
  7. 150 mm
  8. 800 m
  9. 3 m
  10. 2,500 mm
  11. 250 mm
  12. Yes
  13. 300 m
  14. 4,500 cm
  15. 4,200 mm
  16. 1,500 mm
  17. 50 cm
  18. 50,000 cm
  19. 170 cm
  20. Yes

Hard Level Answers

  1. 5,500 mm
  2. 2,500 m
  3. 320 cm
  4. 1.25 m
  5. 42,000 m
  6. 15 cm
  7. 4,800 mm
  8. 750 m
  9. 2,500 cm
  10. 35 mm
  11. 600 mm
  12. 10,000 m
  13. 240 cm
  14. 900 mm
  15. 0.0015 km
  16. 1,200 m
  17. 60 cm
  18. 2000 mm
  19. 250 mm
  20. 1,200 mm

Now you have everything you need to understand and practice metric units of length! Keep practicing, and you’ll become a measurement expert in no time!