Introduction to Matter and the Metric System

7th Grade Physical Science

Mr. Riordan

What is Matter?

• Matter is all things that we can see, touch, and smell in our daily lives.

• Matter is what the universe is made of

• We are made of matter

• Matter has properties.

• A property is a characteristic of something that helps identify it, and which makes it unique.

• Properties describe an object.

Properties of Matter

• There are some properties of matter.

• These properties are mass, weight, volume, and density.

• Our working definition of matter is any substance that has mass and volume

MASS

• Mass is the amount of matter in an object.

• Mass is constant

• It cannot be changed unless you add or remove matter from an object.

• The metric units that are used to express mass are the gram (g), milligram (mg), and the kilogram (kg).

• The amount of space an object takes up or occupies is called its volume.

• The metric units that are used to express volume are the liter (L), milliliter (mL), and the cubic centimeter (cm3).

• Liters and milliliters are used to measure the volume of liquids.

• Cubic centimeters are used to measure the volume of solids.

History of the Metric System

• Developed in Lyon, France, ~1670

• Created to make consistent units for measurement

• Based on “powers of 10”…what does this mean?

The Basic Metric Units

• Meter: base unit for length

• Liter: base unit for volume

• Gram: base unit for mass

Powers of 10

• Prefixes in front of the base unit tell if the measurement is greater or less than the base unit.

• Each prefix is a factor of ten.

• This makes it easy to convert between units.

How big is a ….• Kilometer? 1000x larger then a meter

• Meter? Height of a standard countertop

• Centimeter? 100x smaller then a meter, the width of a dime

• Millimeter? 1000x smaller then a meter, the thickness of a dime

Metric Prefixes

Kilo

1000x

Kilo

1000 X larger

Hecto

100 Xlarger

Deka

10 X larger (no prefix)

Meter Liter Gram Deci

One Tenth1/10

CentiOne

Hundreth1/100

MilliOne

Thousanth1/1000

Larger

Smaller

Base Units

Using a Ruler

What is the length of the blue arrow?

Using a Ruler

ALWAYS measure with the starting point at the “0” mark!

Kilometer - km

• 1000 times larger than a meter.

• 12 blocks less than a mile.

• Main span of GW bridge

Hectameter - hm

• 100x larger than a meter.

• Height of Statue of Liberty from base to torch

Decameter - dam

• 10 x larger than a meter

• Length of a school bus

Meter - m

• Length of a meter stick.

• Height of a counter top

Decimeter - dm

• 10x smaller than a meter.

• Height of a can of soda.

Centimeter - cm

• 100x smaller than a meter

• ½ width of a dime

Millimeter - mm

• 1000x smaller than a meter

• The thickness of a dime

Micrometer - um

• 1,000,000x smaller than a meter.

• diameter of a bacteria cell

Nanometer - nm

• 1,000,000,000x smaller than a meter.

• Thickness of a DNA molecule.

Kilogram - kg

• 1000x heavier than a gram

• Mass of a liter of orange juice.

Hectogram - hg

• 100x heavier than a gram.

• Mass of a stick of butter.

Decagram - dkg

• 10 x heavier than a gram

• Mass of 2 nickels

Gram - g

• Mass of a paper clip

Decigram - dg

• 10 x lighter than a gram.

• Mass of 10 grains of salt

Centigram - cg

• 100x lighter than a gram.

• Mass of a single grain of salt.

Milligram - mg

• 1,000x lighter than a gram.

• Mass of a mosquito

Microgram - ug

• 1,000,000x lighter than a gram

• Mass of a flour particle

Nanogram - ng

• 1,000,000,000x lighter than a gram

• Mass of a human cell.

Kiloliter - kL

• 1000x larger than a liter

• Volume of a fridge

• 1,000,000 cm3

Hectoliter - hL

• 100x larger than a liter.

• 100,000 cm3

• Volume of two kitchen trashcans

Decaliter - dkL

• 10 x larger than a liter.

• 10,000 cm3

• Volume of 3 gallons of milk

Liter - L

• 100 cm3

• Volume of 3 cans of soda

Deciliter - dL

• 10x smaller than a liter.

• 100 cm3

• Volume of a dixie cup

Centiliter - cL

• 100x smaller than a liter

• 10 cm3

• 2 tablespoons of liquid

Milliliter - mL

• 1000x smaller than a liter

• 1 cm3

• Volume of a cube of sugar

Microliter - uL

• 1,000,000x smaller than a liter

• 0.001 cm3

• Crystal of table salt

nanoLiter - nL

• 1,000,000,000x smaller than a liter.

• 0.000001 cm3