How_To_Be_Good_At_Math

182 MEASUREMENT • MASS

Mass

Mass is the amount of matter, or material, contained within

an object. We can measure mass using metric units called

milligrams (mg), grams (g), kilograms (kg), and tonnes.

Milligrams

We measure very light

things in milligrams. The

mass of this ant is 7 mg.

Grams

This frog has a mass

of 5 g. There are 1000 mg

in 1 g. 1 g is about the

mass of a paperclip.

Kilograms

The mass of this big

cat is 8 kg. There are

1000 g in 1 kg.

8 kg

5 g

7 mg

Tonnes

Tonnes are used to measure very

heavy things. This whale has a mass of

4 tonnes. 1 tonne is the same as 1000 kg.

4 tonnes

Converting units of mass

Units of mass are easy to convert. We just have to

multiply or divide by 1000 to switch between units.

To convert mg to g, we divide

by 1000. To convert back the

other way, we multiply by 1000.

To convert g to kg, we also

divide by 1000. To convert the

other way, we multiply by 1000.

To convert kg to tonnes, we

divide by 1000, too. To convert

back to kg, we multiply by 1000.

G

rams^ to^ milligrams Kilograms^ to^ grams

To

nnes^ to^ kilograms

÷ 1000 ÷ (^1000)
× 1000 × 1000 × 1000
(^) Millig
rams to grams
(^) Gram
s to kilograms
50 g 0.05
kg
50
(^000) mg
0.00005 tonnes
÷ (^1000)
(^) Kilog
rams to tonnes
182_183_Mass.indd 182 11/03/2016 16:24