there are different mass measurements, used to represent the measure of this important quantity. The most common measures are linked to the gram, its multiples being the hectogram, the decagram and the kilogram, which are used in objects of greater mass. There are also the submultiples, decigram, centigram and milligram, to measure objects that have less mass. In addition to these mass measures, there are others used in the daily life of certain groups, such as ton, the at sign and the carat.
Read too: What are directly and inversely proportional quantities?
What are the mass measurement units?
to measure the mass, different people used different measures, however, over the years and with globalization, these measures are being increasingly standardized. We use measurement units constantly in our lives: to know our pasta body, to purchase products on the market, etc., and we do not even realize that we are dealing with them. For example, to buy meat, we usually use the kilogram, but when we are going to buy a quantity smaller, for example, 0.7 kilograms, in an almost intuitive way we do the conversion and ask for 700 grams her.
To measure the mass of lighter objects, we generally use the milligram, but it is also common to speak in carats when we are dealing with precious metals. Understanding that there are multiple measures of mass and that we can use each of them when convenient is critical.
Gram: being the most common measure for mass and adopted by the international measurement system, grass has its multiples (kilogram, hectogram and decagram) and its submultiples (milligram, centigram and decagram). Units known as multiples are used to weigh objects that have more mass. units known as submultiples are useful for measuring the mass of objects considered more light. In problem situations, it is quite common to carry out the conversion of one mass measurement unit to others.
Tons: it is also a very common measure used for very large masses. Instead of saying that something is, for example, 2000 kg, it is more convenient to say that it is 2 tons.
Carat: commonly used in the precious metals market, carat is quite common, for example, to refer to alliances produced by metallic mixtures. Used for small measurements, 1 carat corresponds to 0.2 grams.
at sign: it is a measure widely adopted in agriculture. Common for beef cuts, in which the price of beef is given in arrobas, generally 1 arroba corresponds to 15 kilograms.
There are other measures of mass, but which are not usual in Brazil, such as the grain, the pound, the ounce. In Antiquity, each people used its unit of measure of mass, with its own defined criteria.
Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
Converting units of measure
To convert the unit of measure, we need to know the list of acronyms:
kg → kilogram
hg → hectogram
dag → decagram
g→ grass
dg → decigram
cg → centigram
mg → milligram
Representing these greatnesses in order, let's build the table:
In order to convert a unit that is on the left to one that is on the right, we multiply for 10 each unit.
Example
Converting 15 g → mg
When analyzing the table, from gram to milligram, there are three measurement units:
g→ dg → cg → mg
We will multiply each unit by 10:
15 · 10 · 10 · 10 = 15 · 1000 = 15,000 mg
To perform right-to-left conversions, we share per 10 for each unit of measure.
Example 2
Converting 12,000 cg → hg
When analyzing the table, from centigram to hectogram, there are four measurement units.
hg ← dag ← g ← dg ← cg
We will divide each unit by 10:
12,000: 10: 10: 10: 10 = 12,000: 10,000 = 1.2 hg
See too: Divisibility criteria - properties that facilitate the division operation
solved exercises
Question 1 - One of the most common agrarian measures is the at sign, denoted by @. Thus, a cattle has the weight of 475 kg, knowing that one at sign corresponds to 15 kg, the weight of this cattle in at sign is approximately:
a) 30@
b) 31@
c) 32@
d) 45@
e) 47@
Resolution
Alternative C.
To convert, just divide 475 by 15.
475: 15 = 31,66…
Rounding off: 32@.
Question 2 - A metal ring was made with a 26-carat diamond, in addition to the metal, which has 5.8 milligrams. Knowing that 0.2 g corresponds to 1 carat, what will the weight of the entire ring be?
a) 5.2 grams
b) 11 grams
c) 10 grams
d) 26 grams
e) 6 grams
Resolution
Converting diamond stone weight to grams: 26 · 0.2 = 5.2 grams.
Adding to the weight of the metal: 5.2 + 5.8 = 11.0 grams.
Letter B
By Raul Rodrigues de Oliveira
Maths teacher
