Question

Yuri measures the height of the water in an aquarium in one metric unit. He then moves the decimal point the units to the left. Which pair of measurements might he be converting? Use the metric table to help answer the question.

Metric Table:
kilo-: 1,000
hecto-: 100
deka-: 10
1: 1
0.1: deci-
A) kiloliters to liters
B) centiliters to hectoliters
C) liters to deciliters
D) deciliters to hectoliters

Answer 1

Yuri is converting milliliters to liters by moving the decimal point three places to the left, which involves dividing by 1000, since 1000 mL is equivalent to 1 L.

Step-by-step explanation:

When Yuri moves the decimal point three units to the left, he is converting from a smaller metric unit to a larger one. In the metric system, this typically means dividing by a factor related to powers of ten. In the context of volume, moving the decimal three places to the left corresponds to converting from a smaller unit like milliliters (mL) to a larger unit like liters (L), since there are 1000 milliliters in a liter. Therefore, the correct pair of measurements that Yuri might be converting is milliliters to liters. To provide an example, converting 60,000 mL to liters would involve moving the decimal point three places to the left, yielding 60 L (60,000 mL / 1000 = 60 L).