Metric System - Questions
The Metric System Concept Builder is comprised of 24 questions. The questions are organized into 8 different Question Groups and spread across three activities. Questions in the same group are rather similar to one another. The Concept Builder is coded to select at random a question from each group until a student is successful with that group of questions.
There are three activities that can be engaged in through the Concept Builder. Those three activities are differentiated as follows:
- Milli-, Centi-, and Kilo-: Question Groups 1-3 ... Students identify the meaning of the prefixes milli-, centi-, and kilo- and use that meaning to relate a measured quantitiy expressed with that prefix to the equivalent amount of the base unit.
- Matching Pairs: Question Groups 4-5 ... Eight quantities are given; students must identify the four pairs which are equivalent to one another.
- Ranking Tasks: Question Groups 6-8 ... Students rank three different quantities (all having the same base unit) according to their relative size.
The questions from each group are shown below. Teachers are encouraged to view the questions in order to judge which activities are most appropriate for their classes. But we also suggest teachers take a little time to try each of the activities to gain a greater feel for the level of rigor which they demand.
The Physics Classroom grants teachers and other users the right to print these questions for private use. Users are also granted the right to copy the text and modify it for their own use. However, this document should not be uploaded to other servers for distribution to and/or display by others. The Physics Classroom website should remain the only website or server from which the document is distributed or displayed. We also provide a PDF that teachers can use under the same conditions. We have included a link to the PDF near the bottom of this page.
Metric System
Activity 1: Milli, Centi, and Kilo
Question Group 1
Question 1
Complete the following statements.
Metric units often used Greek prefixes. The Greek prefix
millimeans _________.
one-millionth (1/1000000-th)
one-thousandth (1/1000-th)
one-hundredth (1/100-th)
one-tenth (1/10-th)
ten (10)
one-hundred (100)
one-thousand (1000)
So if an object is determined to have a volume of 20
milliliters, then it is equivalent to ________ of a liter.
20/1000000-th
20/1000-th
20/100-th
20/10-th
20 * 10
20 * 100
20 * 1000
That is ...
20 milliliter = _______________ liter
Question 2
Complete the following statements.
Metric units often used Greek prefixes. The Greek prefix
millimeans _________.
one-millionth (1/1000000-th)
one-thousandth (1/1000-th)
one-hundredth (1/100-th)
one-tenth (1/10-th)
ten (10)
one-hundred (100)
one-thousand (1000)
So if an object is determined to have a volume of 20
milliliters, then it is equivalent to ________ of a liter.
50/1000000-th
50/1000-th
50/100-th
50/10-th
50 * 10
50 * 100
50 * 1000
That is ...
50 milliliter = _______________ liter
Question 3
Complete the following statements.
Metric units often used Greek prefixes. The Greek prefix
millimeans _________.
one-millionth (1/1000000-th)
one-thousandth (1/1000-th)
one-hundredth (1/100-th)
one-tenth (1/10-th)
ten (10)
one-hundred (100)
one-thousand (1000)
So if an object is determined to have a volume of 20
milliliters, then it is equivalent to ________ of a liter.
80/1000000-th
80/1000-th
80/100-th
80/10-th
80 * 10
80 * 100
80 * 1000
That is ...
80 milliliter = _______________ liter
Question Group 2
Question 4
Complete the following statements.
Metric units often used Greek prefixes. The Greek prefix
centimeans _________.
one-millionth (1/1000000-th)
one-thousandth (1/1000-th)
one-hundredth (1/100-th)
one-tenth (1/10-th)
ten (10)
one-hundred (100)
one-thousand (1000)
So if an object measures to be 20
centimeters in length, then it is equivalent to ________ of a meter.
20/1000000-th
20/1000-th
20/100-th
20/10-th
20 * 10
20 * 100
20 * 1000
That is ...
20 centimeter = _______________ meter
Question 5
Complete the following statements.
Metric units often used Greek prefixes. The Greek prefix
centimeans _________.
one-millionth (1/1000000-th)
one-thousandth (1/1000-th)
one-hundredth (1/100-th)
one-tenth (1/10-th)
ten (10)
one-hundred (100)
one-thousand (1000)
So if an object measures to be 50
centimeters in length, then it is equivalent to ________ of a meter.
50/1000000-th
50/1000-th
50/100-th
50/10-th
50 * 10
50 * 100
50 * 1000
That is ...
50 centimeter = _______________ meter
Question 6
Complete the following statements.
Metric units often used Greek prefixes. The Greek prefix
centimeans _________.
one-millionth (1/1000000-th)
one-thousandth (1/1000-th)
one-hundredth (1/100-th)
one-tenth (1/10-th)
ten (10)
one-hundred (100)
one-thousand (1000)
So if an object measures to be 80
centimeters in length, then it is equivalent to ________ of a meter.
80/1000000-th
80/1000-th
80/100-th
80/10-th
80 * 10
80 * 100
80 * 1000
That is ...
80 centimeter = _______________ meter
Question Group 3
Question 7
Complete the following statements.
Metric units often used Greek prefixes. The Greek prefix
kilomeans _________.
one-millionth (1/1000000-th)
one-thousandth (1/1000-th)
one-hundredth (1/100-th)
one-tenth (1/10-th)
ten (10)
one-hundred (100)
one-thousand (1000)
So if an object is determined to have a mass of 20
kilograms, then it is equivalent to ________ of a grams.
20/1000000-th
20/1000-th
20/100-th
20/10-th
20 * 10
20 * 100
20 * 1000
That is ...
20 kilogram = _______________ gram
Question 8
Complete the following statements.
Metric units often used Greek prefixes. The Greek prefix
kilomeans _________.
one-millionth (1/1000000-th)
one-thousandth (1/1000-th)
one-hundredth (1/100-th)
one-tenth (1/10-th)
ten (10)
one-hundred (100)
one-thousand (1000)
So if an object is determined to have a mass of 20
kilograms, then it is equivalent to ________ of a grams.
50/1000000-th
50/1000-th
50/100-th
50/10-th
50 * 10
50 * 100
50 * 1000
That is ...
50 kilogram = _______________ gram
Question 9
Complete the following statements.
Metric units often used Greek prefixes. The Greek prefix
kilomeans _________.
one-millionth (1/1000000-th)
one-thousandth (1/1000-th)
one-hundredth (1/100-th)
one-tenth (1/10-th)
ten (10)
one-hundred (100)
one-thousand (1000)
So if an object is determined to have a mass of 20
kilograms, then it is equivalent to ________ of a grams.
80/1000000-th
80/1000-th
80/100-th
80/10-th
80 * 10
80 * 100
80 * 1000
That is ...
80 kilogram = _______________ gram
Activity 2: Pair Matching
Question Group 4
Question 10
Each quantity listed below can be matched to another quantity that is equivalent in magnitude or size. Find the matching pairs.
100 000 milligram
10 gram
1000 milligram
1 gram
100 gram
100 milligram
10 centigram
0.01 kilogram
Question 11
Each quantity listed below can be matched to another quantity that is equivalent in magnitude or size. Find the matching pairs.
20 gram
20 centigram
2 gram
200 000 milligram
200 gram
2000 milligram
0.0002 kilogram
0.02 kilogram
Question 12
Each quantity listed below can be matched to another quantity that is equivalent in magnitude or size. Find the matching pairs.
4000 milligram
4 gram
40 centigram
400 gram
0.04 gram
400 000 milligram
0.0004 kilogram
40 milligram
Question Group 5
Question 13
Each quantity listed below can be matched to another quantity that is equivalent in magnitude or size. Find the matching pairs.
30 meter
30 millimeter
0.0003 meter
3 centimeter
0.03 centimeter
300 millimeter
0.03 kilometer
0.3 meter
Question 14
Each quantity listed below can be matched to another quantity that is equivalent in magnitude or size. Find the matching pairs.
0.5 meter
5 centimeter
5 meter
50 millimeter
500 millimeter
0.05 centimeter
0.005 kilometer
0.0005 meter
Question 15
Each quantity listed below can be matched to another quantity that is equivalent in magnitude or size. Find the matching pairs.
6 millimeter
0.6 meter
600 centimeter
0.006 meter
0.0006 meter
0.06 centimeter
600 millimeter
0.006 kilometer
Activity 3: Ranking Tasks
Question Group 6
Question 16
Rank the following quantities in terms of their size - largest, smallest, and
middlest.
300 centimeter
300 meter
300 kilometer
Question 17
Rank the following quantities in terms of their size - largest, smallest, and
middlest.
400 kilogram
400 centigram
400 gram
Question 18
Rank the following quantities in terms of their size - largest, smallest, and
middlest.
600 liter
600 kiloliter
600 centiliter
Question Group 7
Question 19
Rank the following quantities in terms of their size - largest, smallest, and
middlest.
3 millimeter
300 centimeter
30 meter
Question 20
Rank the following quantities in terms of their size - largest, smallest, and
middlest.
40 gram
4 milligram
400 centigram
Question 21
Rank the following quantities in terms of their size - largest, smallest, and
middlest.
600 centiliter
60 liter
6 milliliter
Question Group 8
Question 22
Rank the following quantities in terms of their size - largest, smallest, and
middlest.
400 centimeter
40 meter
0.4 kilometer
Question 23
Rank the following quantities in terms of their size - largest, smallest, and
middlest.
800 centigram
80 gram
0.8 kilogram
Question 24
Rank the following quantities in terms of their size - largest, smallest, and
middlest.
600 centiliter
60 liter
0.6 kiloliter