Converting Mass
You measure mass in kilograms (kg) and grams (g) depending on how heavy something is.

If you were baking a cake, you would use grams but when you buy the flour and sugar in the shops, they are sold in kilograms.

1000 g = 1 kg

• To convert grams into kilograms you divide by 1000.
• To convert kilograms into grams, you multiply by 1000.

Example 1:
How many grams are in 5.5 kg?

Answer: 5.5 x 1000 = 5500 g

Converting Capacity
Capacity (or ‘volume’) is measured in millilitres (ml) and litres (l).

Capacity is another measure that you see a lot in baking and cooking. You also see it on the side of drinks bottles and cans. A can of drink usually holds 330 ml but you can buy bigger bottles that are 2 litres.

1000 ml = 1 l

• To convert millilitres into litres you divide by 1000.
• To convert kilograms into grams, you multiply by 1000.

Example 2:
How many litres are in 245 ml?

Answer: 245 ÷ 1000 = 0.245 l

Converting Length
Metric length can be measured in millimetres, centimetres, metres and kilometres. Different lengths are used depending on how long the length you are measuring is.

Converting length isn’t as straightforward as mass or capacity since there are different conversions for each length.

10mm = 1cm

• To convert millimetres to centimetres you divide by 10.
• To convert centimetres to millimetres you multiply by 10.

100cm = 1m

• To convert centimetres to metres you divide by 100.
• To convert metres to centimetres you multiply by 100.

1000m = 1km

• To convert metres to kilometres you divide by 1000.
• To convert kilometres to metres you multiply by 1000.

Example 3:
How many centimetres are there in 5.5 metres?

Answer: 5.5 x 100 = 550 cm