Metric System help!?!

[dawntx]

Anyone have a help or hint on the metric system and getting dc to understand? Maybe I should say, helping me understand so that I can help my dc! Today, in reviewing the metric system kg and g are really the hardest to "get" for us! I can do US standard but metric is so hard for my pea brain, I guess. Do you have a tip? I have to go look every time on a cereal box to see if I'm right. I think I'm going to have to make a long grocery trip and spend a lot of time looking at the kgs and gs of the products and make a game of it- maybe I'll get it??

Love any help from you that find math a breeze!
thanks,
Dawn

[juliekay]

Not sure what you're looking for... Are you using Singapore 2A? I actually purchased a kitchen scale. We weighed things and checked out what packages of peanuts and bags of lentils, etc. had written on them.... It's worth the cost of a $15 kitchen scale!

[SoaringEagle]

I grew up in Canada so metric is familiar...US standard will be another story for me...but not sure how to help you. I remember doing a step chart, listing the kg, g, etc...so that it would be easier to figure out problems. I'm try to google something that might help. http://www.think-metric.com/basics.html - talk about the decimal system...., I would like to find the chart I'm thinking about though. Here's something that is similar: http://sciencespot.net/Media/metriccnvsn2.pdf - you need to fill in the boxes with whatever measurement you are working with, like g or cm, etc...
Here's a site that may be helpful: http://library.thinkquest.org/3804/index.html I noticed that when I clicked on length, it gave me the chart that I was thinking about.

I hope this was somewhat helpful for you.

[MomtoJGJE]

When I was in school we did a chart that looked kinda like this

K | H | D | | D | C | M

In the middle space we wrote "meter" "liter" "gram".... we actually had a little Mnemonic to remember it, but it wouldn't help you because it was based on our city and school paper

the letters stand for Kilo, Hecta(o?), Deca... Deci, Centi, Milli

so say you have 2 grams ... that would be .2 decagrams or 200 centigrams

it shows you how far and which direction to move the decimal.... I don't know if that will help you any though. Now that I read again that probably isn't at all what you were asking... nevermind

[NicoleJ]

Here in Australia, we have the metric system, so if you need any questions answered, *hopefully* I can answer them!

I must say, though, MomtoJGJE, that I have never heard of what you have written there!

The metric system to me is so much easier to understand as it is always to do with a base ten system, unlike the imperial system that is based on all sorts of different measurements.

Saying that, though, I still can only judge babies in pounds (who knows what a 3550gm baby looks like? It is 7lb 12) and I tell people how tall I am in feet (5' and 1/2 an ") LOL

Sometimes it is easier if you can imagine:

a cm is about 1/3 of an inch

there are about 3 feet in a metre

There are 2.2 pounds in a kg.

If I were you, I would find a cm ruler, and get your kids to heft a kilo of flour or something to start to see how much it is.

Why do you need to teach them metric measurements? HTH! Nicole

[Mommamo]

MomtoJGJE, that made perfect sense! I've always loved metric because it is so easy-moving the decimals. I just can't judge by metric, if that makes sense. I have no idea how long a kilometer is in regards to a mile. But I know that it is 1000 meters! LOL I am glad to have that chart. We probably won't need it for a while with C, but it's good to have.

[dawntx]

Hey, Thanks for the help, ladies! In Singapore 2 we had to look at pictures and decide between kg or g for measurement(which was my biggest issue ) I followed along just fine until the final review and there weren't pics-I'm a little slow I guess- I just don't think in metric system... I just want to say lbs. and oz. I really like the scale that you gave me the link to Soaringeagle and momtojgje- it was helpful just to get the chart in my mind. Nicolej thanks too for your help and encouragement. We did pull out the cm ruler and reviewed that again and meters as well. We also went to Walmart and everything on our grocery list that went into the basket, we looked at and compared the kgs. and gs. on the packages- hopefully that will help some in just getting the idea and building some schema for him (and mom) for the next time we encounter this measurement. It seemed that the bigger the number say, 345gs should be bigger/ heavier than 1 kg. --

Thanks again--
Dawn

[Tansy]

Why do you need to teach them metric measurements? HTH! Nicole

I have a good reason...
So if they ever grow up and become missionaries and leave America's shores they will understand the unit of measurement used in other countries

I went to a school that taught both because remember back in the 70's we were gonna switch... so I get metric it's the inches that confuse me ROFL!