Recognising and naming the base metric units: metre (length), gram (mass), and litre (capacity).
Where your child meets this in real life: Reading labels on food packaging, medicine bottles, and road signs
SEAGReady breaks know metric unit names into 2 steps, taught in order so each skill builds on the last.
Identify and name the base metric units: metre (length), gram (mass), and litre (capacity)
Understand that gram, metre, and litre are base units, and recognise that there are larger related units like kilogram and kilometre
Three free sample questions from our know metric unit names course. Every question comes with a full explanation, and hints that guide without giving the answer away.
Sean is helping in the kitchen. He needs to measure flour for biscuits. Which base unit should he use?
Answer: A. gram
Flour is measured by how heavy it is (its mass). Mass is measured in grams. The answer is gram.
Stuck? Start here: Think about what you do with flour - do you measure how long it is, how much liquid, or how heavy?
Oisin's book says that kilogram is a larger unit than gram. Which is the base unit for measuring mass: kilogram or gram?
Answer: B. gram
The prefix 'kilo-' means 1000. 1 kilogram = 1000 grams. Gram is the base unit; kilogram is built from it. The answer is gram.
Stuck? Start here: The prefix 'kilo-' means something. What does it mean?
Aoife is pouring milk into a jug. Which base unit measures how much milk the jug can hold?
Answer: B. litre
Milk is a liquid, so we measure capacity (how much the jug holds). Capacity is measured in litres. The answer is litre.
Stuck? Start here: The jug holds liquid. What type of measurement tells us how much liquid fits?
This is the exact interactive worked example your child sees in SEAGReady. Step through it and watch the method build up.
Ciara is helping her mum in the kitchen. She needs to measure flour for a cake, milk for the batter, and ribbon to decorate the box.
Which base unit would she use for each: metre, gram, or litre?
flour -> ?, milk -> ?, ribbon -> ?
Step 1 of 4
Ciara is helping her mum in the kitchen. She needs to measure flour for a cake, milk for the batter, and ribbon to decorate the box.
Which base unit would she use for each: metre, gram, or litre?
Flour is weighed in grams, milk is measured in litres, and ribbon in metres.
The key insight: Each base unit measures something different: metre for length, gram for weight, litre for liquids!
Watch out: Using litre to measure flour. Litre measures capacity (liquids), not weight. Flour is weighed in grams.
These are the misconceptions we see most often in know metric unit names, including the ones our practice questions are specifically designed to catch.
SEAGReady finds the exact step where your child gets stuck, teaches it with worked examples like the one above, and brings it back for review so it sticks.