Units of distance

• What are the different units of length mentioned?

  Nanometers, micrometers, millimeters, meters, kilometers
• Why do we use different units of length?

  Each unit is 1,000 times bigger or smaller
• How do you convert kilometers to meters?

  Multiply by 1,000
• What happens to the number when converting from mm to m?

  The number becomes smaller, value stays same
• What is the conversion of 6 mm to meters?

  0.006 m
• What is the conversion of 6 mm to kilometers?

  6 * 10^-6 km
• How do you convert mm to micrometers?

  Multiply by 1,000
• What is the conversion of 6 mm to micrometers?

  6,000 micrometers
• What is the conversion of 6 mm to nanometers?

  6 * 10⁶ nanometers
• How do you convert units that aren't next to each other on the scale?

  Convert in steps through adjacent units
• What is the conversion of 340 nanometers to millimeters?

  0.00034 mm
• What is the size range of atoms?

  0.1 to 0.5 nanometers
• How big are small cells like bacteria?

  About 1 micrometer
• What is the size of viruses?

  About 100 nanometers
• What is the size range of most animal and plant cells?

  10 to 100 micrometers
• What is the relationship between centimeters and millimeters?

  1 cm equals 10 mm
• How do you convert centimeters to meters?

  Divide by 100
• How do you convert centimeters to millimeters?

  Multiply by 10
• What is the conversion of 30 cm to nanometers?

  3 * 10⁸ nanometers
• What are the steps to convert 30 cm to nanometers?

  1. Convert 30 cm to mm: 30 * 10 = 300 mm
  2. Convert 300 mm to micrometers: 300 * 1,000 = 300,000 micrometers
  3. Convert 300,000 micrometers to nanometers: 300,000 * 1,000 = 3 * 10⁸ nanometers
• What is the context for understanding tiny units of measurement?

  • Atoms: 0.1 to 0.5 nanometers
  • Glucose: about 1 nanometer
  • Viruses: about 100 nanometers
  • Bacteria: about 1 micrometer
  • Animal/Plant cells: 10 to 100 micrometers
  • Human hair: about 100 micrometers
• What are the general rules for converting units of length?

  • To convert to a larger unit: divide by 1,000 for each place
  • To convert to a smaller unit: multiply by 1,000 for each place
  • For non-adjacent units: convert in steps through adjacent units