High School

Yuri measures the volume of the water in an aquarium. He then moves the decimal point in the measurement three units to the left. Which pair of measurements might he be converting? Use the metric table to help answer the question.



\[

\begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|}

\hline

\multicolumn{7}{|c|}{\text{Metric Table}} \\

\hline

\text{kilo-} & \text{hecto-} & \text{deka-} & \text{unit} & \text{deci-} & \text{centi-} & \text{milli-} \\

\hline

1,000 & 100 & 10 & 1 & 0.1 & 0.01 & 0.001 \\

\hline

\end{tabular}

\]



A. kiloliters to liters

B. centiliters to hectoliters

C. liters to deciliters

D. deciliters to hectoliters

Answer :

- Moving the decimal point three units to the left is equivalent to dividing by 1000.
- Check the conversion factor between each pair of units.
- Kiloliters to liters: 1 kiloliter = 1000 liters. Moving the decimal point three places to the left converts liters to kiloliters.
- The correct pair is kiloliters to liters.

### Explanation
1. Understanding the Problem
When Yuri moves the decimal point three units to the left, he is dividing the original measurement by 1000. We need to determine which pair of metric units has a conversion factor of 1000 (or 1/1000) between them. Let's examine each option.

2. Analyzing Conversion Factors
Let's analyze the conversion factors between the given pairs of units:

* **Kiloliters to liters:** 1 kiloliter (kL) is equal to 1000 liters (L). Therefore, moving the decimal point three places to the left converts liters to kiloliters.
* **Centiliters to hectoliters:** 1 hectoliter (hL) is equal to 10,000 centiliters (cL). This is a factor of 10,000, not 1000.
* **Liters to deciliters:** 1 liter (L) is equal to 10 deciliters (dL). This is a factor of 10, not 1000.
* **Deciliters to hectoliters:** 1 hectoliter (hL) is equal to 1000 deciliters (dL). Moving the decimal point three places to the left converts hectoliters to deciliters, not deciliters to hectoliters.

3. Identifying the Correct Conversion
From the analysis above, we can see that moving the decimal point three places to the left corresponds to converting liters to kiloliters.

4. Final Answer
Therefore, the correct pair of measurements Yuri might be converting is kiloliters to liters.

### Examples
Understanding metric conversions is essential in everyday life. For instance, when cooking, you might need to convert milliliters to liters to adjust a recipe. Similarly, in construction, converting between meters and kilometers is crucial for planning distances. This problem demonstrates how moving the decimal point relates to metric unit conversions, a practical skill in various fields.