Lesson 5 Multi-step Conversion Problems: Metric Length

Warm-up True or False: Powers of 10

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

Lin has a watch that counts the number of steps she takes during the day and displays those steps in centimeters, meters, or kilometers.

Here is a list of activities Lin did on Monday. Next to each activity, write whether it would make sense to display the distance in cm, m, or km.
- walked to her friend’s desk
- walked to the front of the classroom
- walked from her classroom to the bus
- ran twice around the playground
The table shows the amount of steps Lin’s watch displayed for each activity. If each of her steps is 50 centimeters, how many centimeters and meters did Lin walk for each activity?
activity
number of steps
distance (cm)
distance (m)
walked to her friend’s desk
$5$
walked to the front of the classroom
$12$
walked from her classroom to the bus
$250$
ran twice around the playground
$1, 000$
At the end of the day, Lin’s watch displayed 8,500 steps. Would it make sense for her watch to record the distance in centimeters, meters, or kilometers? Why?
How many kilometers did Lin walk that day?

activity	number of steps	distance (cm)	distance (m)
walked to her friend’s desk	$5$
walked to the front of the classroom	$12$
walked from her classroom to the bus	$250$
ran twice around the playground	$1, 000$

Use the table to find the total distance Tyler ran during the week. Explain or show your reasoning.
day
distance (km)
Monday
$8.5$
Tuesday
$6.25$
Wednesday
$10.3$
Thursday
$5.75$
Friday
$9.25$
Use the table to find the total distance Clare ran during the week. Show your reasoning.
day
distance (m)
Monday
$5, 400$
Tuesday
$7, 500$
Wednesday
$8, 250$
Thursday
$6, 750$
Friday
$7, 250$
Who ran farther, Clare or Tyler? How much farther? Explain or show your reasoning.

A track is 366 meters around. An athlete runs 15 laps. How many kilometers is that? Explain or show your reasoning.