Convert Between Units of Mass

What is mass?

Mass is a measure of how heavy things are. We often use the term weight instead. 

In the metric system, mass is measured using grams, kilograms and tonnes. 

There are 1,000 grams in 1 kilogram, and 1,000 kilograms in 1 tonne. 

Look at this diagram that you can use to help you convert between the three units:

If we have a quantity measured in kilograms and we want to change it to grams, how do we do this?

We want the arrow pointing from kg to g so we multiply by 1,000.

Example:

Change 56 kg into g:

56 x 1,000 = 56,000

So 56 kg = 56,000 g

And if we want to change a quantity from kg to tonnes? We're going the opposite way, so we divide by 1,000. 

Example:

Change 450 kg into tonnes

450 ÷ 1,000 = 0.45

So 450 kg = 0.45 t

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