Grade Six Mathematics
Greetings, boys and girls! It's a pleasure to have you back for our regular Mathematics Column. I trust you had a delightful Christmas break, and now you're all set to resume your school activities! This week, we'll delve into the topic of measurement. Approach your tasks with care and attention, and let's make this learning journey engaging.
Measurement
What is measurement?
Measurement involves determining a numerical value that represents the quantity of something. Time, weight, height, length, temperature, speed, and various other aspects can be measured. Without the ability to measure, determining when to attend school, understanding your weight, and gauging the temperature outside would be challenging. A measurement unit serves as a standardized quantity for expressing physical qualities.
Measuring Length
Length refers to the measurement of how long an object extends from one end to the other. Length conversion involves the transformation of measurements from one unit to another unit.
Common units of length
The Metric Ladder
By using the metric ladder, we will understand the conversion of units better. If we go down, then for each step, we need to multiply by 10. If we move up, then for each step, we need to divide by 10.
Centimeters and Millimeters
The units of centimeter and millimeter both originate from the metric system's base unit, the meter, which is used to measure distance.
The prefix centi- means “one-hundredth,” so there are 100 centimeters in every meter. The prefix milli- means “one-thousandth,” so there are 1000 millimeters in every meter.
Hence, millimetres and centimetres are only separated by one tens place, which means that there are ultimately 10 millimetres for every centimeter.
Ok boys and girls, let us now apply the metric ladder to convert measurements in centimeter to millimeter.
Converting Centimeter to Millimeter
We know that 1 cm = 10mm (check metric ladder) Hence, to convert the value of length cm to mm, we multiply the value by 10.
Let us examine the example below:
Example 1
The width of a surface measures 22.31 cm. What is the width of the same surface when taken in mm?
Solution:
Width of surface = 22.31 cm If 1 cm = 10 mm
Therefore 22.31cm to mm =
22.31 x 10 = 223.1 mm.
Therefore the width of the surface is 223.1mm. Let’s work a few.
Exercise 1
Convert the following measurements from centimeters to millimeters: a. 85 cm= ______mm b. 51 cm= ______mm c. 67 cm= ______ mm d. 11 cm= _____mm e. 98 cm= ______ mm f. 91 cm= _____mm
Good job, boys and girls!
Now, are you aware that we can reverse the process? Indeed, we can also convert millimeters into centimeters. Let's explore the method for doing so. Converting millimeter to centimeter
Formula: 1mm= 0.1 cm
The length in centimeter is equal to the millimeters divided by 10. That is; to convert the value of length in mm to cm, we have to divide the given value by 10.
Therefore:
1 mm= 1/10 = 0.1 cm
10 mm= 10/10 = 1cm
100 mm = 100/10 =10 cm and so on.
As an example, let us convert 45 mm to cm.
Example 2
Convert 45 mm to cm:
Solution:
When we divide 45 by 10 we get:
45/ 10 = 4.5 cm
Let’s now apply the knowledge we have learned, by converting the following measurements from millimeter to centimeter.
Exercise 2
Convert the following lengths from millimeters to centimeters: a. 75 mm= _____ cm b. 22 mm = _____ cm c. 24 mm= _____ cm d. 45 mm= _______ cm e. 98 mm= _____ cm f. 70 mm= _______ cm
That concludes today's session, boys and girls. Return next week to discover the solutions to this week's problems. In our upcoming class, we'll delve further into the topic of measurement. Wishing you a week filled with blessings and productivity at school!