Lesson 4 Metric Conversion and Division by Powers of Ten

Warm-up True or False: Divide by a Hundred and a Thousand

Decide if each statement is true or false. Be prepared to explain your reasoning.

athlete	long jump	javelin throw	shot put
Jackie Joyner-Kersee, USA	727 cm	4,566 cm	1,580 cm
Sabine John, Germany	671 cm	4,256 cm	1,623 cm
Anke Behmer, Germany	678 cm	4,454 cm	1,420 cm

Below are some results Jackie Joyner-Kersee recorded in different events in 1988. Complete the table.
event
centimeters
meters
long jump
$727$
javelin throw
$4, 566$
shot put
$1, 580$
Which unit of measure is most helpful when you picture each distance, centimeters or meters? Explain or show your reasoning.
Why do you think that the distances are measured to the nearest centimeter?

The table shows how many meters some students ran during a week. Complete the table to show how many kilometers each student ran.
student
distance (meters)
distance (kilometers)
Diego
$9, 513$
Clare
$11, 018$
Priya
$8, 210$
Andre
$10, 000$
What patterns do you notice in the table?
Below is Tyler’s strategy to divide a whole number by 10, 100, or 1,000.

Describe to your partner what Tyler means.

(Pause for teacher direction.)
Why does Tyler’s strategy work? Will Tyler’s strategy always work? Explain or show your reasoning.

How many meters are in each measurement?

16 millimeters

1,375 millimeters

57 millimeters
How does a whole number of millimeters change when you express the measurement in meters?