Lesson 1 of 8 · Grades 3 to 5
Practice: Length in metric units
Ten questions on metric length: reading a ruler, changing between millimetres, centimetres, metres and kilometres, comparing lengths and choosing a sensible unit.
How to use this page
This page gives you ten more questions on the same idea as the lesson "Length in metric units". Work through them at your own speed. Write your answer down or say it out loud before you open the answer box, so you give yourself a real chance to think.
If a question feels hard, go back to the lesson and look at the worked example again. Getting a question wrong is useful; it shows you the part that needs one more look.
Practice questions
Answer all ten questions in your notebook or in your head. Then open each answer to check your work.
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How many millimetres are in 5 centimetres?
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50 millimetres. 5 × 10 = 50 mm.
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A board is 300 cm long. How many metres is that?
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3 metres. 300 ÷ 100 = 3 m.
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A snail slides 60 mm. Write that in centimetres.
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6 centimetres. 60 ÷ 10 = 6 cm.
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A road sign says the next town is 4 km away. How many metres is that?
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4,000 metres. 4 × 1,000 = 4,000 m.
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Which is longer, 1 metre or 95 centimetres?
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1 metre. It is 100 cm, which is longer than 95 cm.
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A ribbon is 2 m 40 cm long. Write its length in centimetres.
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240 centimetres. 2 m is 200 cm, and 200 + 40 = 240 cm.
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A trail is 1,500 m long. How many full kilometres, and how many metres are left over?
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1 km 500 m. 1,500 m is 1,000 m plus 500 m.
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A book is 2 cm 4 mm thick. Write that in millimetres.
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24 millimetres. 2 cm is 20 mm, and 20 + 4 = 24 mm.
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A soccer field is about 100 m long. How far is a jog of five lengths, in metres?
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500 metres. 5 × 100 = 500 m.
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A string is 175 mm long. Write that in centimetres and millimetres.
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17 cm 5 mm. 175 mm is 170 mm plus 5 mm.