Year 5 Converting units worksheet

“Bigger to smaller units” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 5 maths unit “Converting units”, for children aged 9 to 10, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 32 to 33 of the year, 10 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Bigger to smaller units

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 5 · Maths · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can convert larger units to smaller units by multiplying by 1,000.

A Look back3 min

1.
6 × 10 =
2.
4 tens and 6 ones make
3.
Write < or > in the box: 3,000 300

B Watch me, then you4 min

A jug holds 2 litres. How many millilitres is that?

Watch me

1 litre is 1,000 millilitres.

2 litres is two lots of 1,000 millilitres.

2 × 1,000 = 2,000, so the jug holds 2,000 ml.

Now you

1.
6 litres = ml

C Your turn5 min

Each row changes the number of kilometres. The rule stays the same.

1.
3 km = m
2.
5 km = m
3.
12 km = m
4.
20 km = m

Say it out loud: What do you notice about the zeros at the end of every answer?

D Spot the mistake2 min

Mia says: “3 kilograms is 30 grams.”

1.
How many grams are really in 3 kilograms?

E Think deeper4 min

1.
Which is longer, 4 km or 3,500 m? Change the km into metres, then explain how you know.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Bigger to smaller units · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. 60

2. 46

3. >

B

1. 6000 ml If your child writes 600 ml, they multiplied by 100 instead of 1,000. Ask how many thousands are in 6 litres, then count them.

C

1. 3000 m

2. 5000 m If your child writes 5005 m, they added the 5 on again. Five kilometres is 5 × 1,000 = 5,000 m, with no extra 5.

3. 12000 m

4. 20000 m If your child writes 2000 m, they multiplied by 100. Count the thousands: 20 × 1,000 = 20,000 m.

D

1. 3000 g If your child writes 30 g, they copied Mia, who multiplied by 10 instead of 1,000. Kilo means one thousand, so 3 kg is 3 × 1,000 = 3,000 g.

E

1. Look for: 4 km is longer, with a reason that 4 km is 4,000 m and 4,000 is more than 3,500.

Words to use

Say“Which unit is smaller? So should the number get bigger?”

Instead of“Just add three zeros without thinking about the units.”

After the sheet

Find a packet weighed in whole kilograms, such as a 1 kg bag of flour. Ask your child to write its weight in grams.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

9 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Smaller to bigger units(with a plan)
Fractions and decimals of units(with a plan)
Grams from kilograms(with a plan)
Tenths and easy conversions(with a plan)
Same units, then solve(with a plan)
Close enough conversions(with a plan)
Miles, kilometres, pounds and euros(with a plan)
Time that crosses the hour(with a plan)
Convert first, then calculate(with a plan)

Every Year 5 maths worksheet

The worksheets plan opens a printable sheet for every lesson in Years 1 to 6, each with its answers on a separate page for you. It costs £6.99 a month or £59 a year for the whole family, with no free trial.

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