Units for Measuring Length - Cycle 2

| Mathematics

What units are used to measure lengths?

Measurements can be made in metres (m), decimetres (dm), centimetres (cm), or millimetres (mm).

The metre is the standard basic unit of measurement. It can be split into parts to get decimetres, centimetres, or millimetres.

Observe the length of what needs to be measured to choose which unit of measurement to use. Generally, longer distances require larger units of measurement.

Example
  • The width of a classroom is measured in metres.
  • The height of a desk is measured in decimetres.
  • The length of a pencil is measured in centimetres.
  • The thickness of a book is measured in millimetres.

Units of measurement can be converted from one to the other using certain equivalent relationships.

Example
  • 1 m = 10 dm = 100 cm = 1 000 mm
  • 8 m = 80 dm = 800 cm = 8 000 mm