Use knowledge of 1,000 to explain common measure conversions | Maths

Starter quiz

Which of these representations shows 1,000?
How many ones are there in one thousand? ______
- '1,000' ✓
Match the unit of measure to the correct type of measurement.
- millimetre
  
  ⇔
  
  length ✓
- gram
  
  ⇔
  
  mass ✓
- millilitre
  
  ⇔
  
  capacity ✓
Order these units of measure from smallest to largest:
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  millimetres
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  metres
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  kilometres
Which of the items could be around one metre long?
- A hamster
- A five year old child ✓
- A house
Which of the items could have a capacity of about one litre?
- A large bottle of lemonade. ✓
- A spoon.
- A bathtub.

Exit quiz

There are ______ mm in one metre.
- '1,000' ✓
There are ______ grams in one kilogram.
- '1,000' ✓
How many metres in one kilometre? There are ______ m in one kilometre.
- '1,000' ✓
Which of these is the most sensible estimate for how long it would take to walk one kilometre?
- 20 seconds
- 20 minutes ✓
- 20 hours
Which of these items is approximately equivalent to one millilitre?
- A can of paint.
- A raindrop. ✓
- A bottle of squash.
Which of these items is approximately equivalent to one gram?
- A drawing pin. ✓
- A bag of sugar.
- A bag of rice.

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

There are 1,000 m in a km and 1,000 mm in a m
There are 1,000 ml in a l and 1,000 g in a kg
Milli means 1,000 times smaller
Kilo means 1,000 times larger

Common misconception

Pupils can be misled by the meaning of the prefix 'milli', as it sounds like one million. They therefore presume a millimetre is one millionth of a metre, or that one metre is one million millimetres.

The etymology of the prefixes 'milli' and 'kilo' are discussed in the lesson. You may wish to extend this by talking about other examples. Adding the words and their meanings to your Maths area will serve as a useful reminder, as will flash cards.

Keywords

Millimetre - A metric measure of distance used for small lengths.
Metre - The basic unit of length (or distance) in the metric system.
Kilometre - A metric measure of distance, equal to 1,000 metres.
Gram / kilogram - A gram (g) is a measure of mass. 1,000 grams are equivalent to one kilogram (kg).
Millilitre / litre - A millilitre (ml) is a measure of capacity. 1,000 millilitres are equivalent to one litre (l)