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New
Year 4

Use knowledge of 1,000 to explain common measure conversions

You can use knowledge of 1,000 to explain common measure conversions.

New
New
Year 4

Use knowledge of 1,000 to explain common measure conversions

You can use knowledge of 1,000 to explain common measure conversions.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. There are 1,000 m in a km and 1,000 mm in a m
  2. There are 1,000 ml in a l and 1,000 g in a kg
  3. Milli means 1,000 times smaller
  4. Kilo means 1,000 times larger

Keywords

  • Millimetre - A metric measure of distance used for small lengths.

  • Metre - The basic unit of length (or distance) in the metric system.

  • Kilometre - A metric measure of distance, equal to 1,000 metres.

  • Gram / Kilogram - A gram (g) is a measure of mass. 1,000 grams are equivalent to one kilogram (kg).

  • Millilitre / litre - A millilitre (ml) is a measure of capacity. 1,000 millilitres are equivalent to one litre (l)

Common misconception

Pupils can be misled by the meaning of the prefix 'milli', as it sounds like one million. They therefore presume a millimetre is one millionth of a metre, or that one metre is one million millimetres.

The etymology of the prefixes 'milli' and 'kilo' are discussed in the lesson. You may wish to extend this by talking about other examples. Adding the words and their meanings to your Maths area will serve as a useful reminder, as will flash cards.

The lesson asks pupils to use trundle wheels to measure out one kilometre, noting different landmarks or locations as they go. If this is not possible, ask them to measure one kilometre by going round the school field or playground. Using digital mapping can give a sense of a kilometre.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Trundle wheel (ideally one between two), metre sticks.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these representations shows 1,000?
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Q2.
How many ones are there in one thousand?
Correct Answer: 1,000, 1000
Q3.
Match the unit of measure to the correct type of measurement.
Correct Answer:millimetre ,length

length

Correct Answer:gram ,mass

mass

Correct Answer:millilitre ,capacity

capacity

Q4.
Order these units of measure from smallest to largest:
1 - millimetres
2 - metres
3 - kilometres
Q5.
Which of the items could be around one metre long?
A hamster
Correct answer: A five year old child
A house
Q6.
Which of the items could have a capacity of about one litre?
Correct answer: A large bottle of lemonade.
A spoon.
A bathtub.

6 Questions

Q1.
There are mm in one metre.
Correct Answer: 1,000, one thousand, 1000
Q2.
There are grams in one kilogram.
Correct Answer: 1,000, 1000, one thousand
Q3.
How many metres in one kilometre? There are m in one kilometre.
Correct Answer: 1,000, 1000, one thousand
Q4.
Which of these is the most sensible estimate for how long it would take to walk one kilometre?
20 seconds
Correct answer: 20 minutes
20 hours
Q5.
Which of these items is approximately equivalent to one millilitre?
A can of paint.
Correct answer: A raindrop.
A bottle of squash.
Q6.
Which of these items is approximately equivalent to one gram?
Correct answer: A drawing pin.
A bag of sugar.
A bag of rice.