Weight — grams and kilograms

Weight — grams and kilograms

Weight — grams and kilograms

Weight tells us how heavy something is. The two main units in everyday life:

  • g (gram) — small things. A paper clip is about 1 g.
  • kg (kilogram) — bigger things. A bag of sugar is 1 kg.

1 kg = 1000 g.

Things to weigh

ObjectAbout
A coin5 g
A pencil10 g
A chocolate bar100 g
A loaf of bread500 g (= ½ kg)
A bag of flour1 kg
A school bag3 kg
A small dog8 kg

Converting kg to g

Multiply kilograms by 1000, then add the leftover grams.

2 kg 300 g = 2 × 1000 + 300 = 2300 g.

1 kg = 1000 g.

5 kg 50 g = 5050 g.

Converting g to kg and g

Take whole thousands out — those are full kilograms. The rest stays in g.

1500 g = 1 kg 500 g (because 1500 = 1 × 1000 + 500).

3000 g = 3 kg.

2750 g = 2 kg 750 g.

Comparing weights

Convert to the same unit first.

1 kg vs. 800 g → 1000 g vs. 800 g → 1 kg > 800 g.

1500 g vs. 1 kg 600 g → 1500 vs. 1600 → 1500 g < 1 kg 600 g.

Try it

Summary

  • 1 kg = 1000 g.
  • kg → g: multiply by 1000.
  • g → kg+g: take whole thousands out.
  • To compare, convert to the same unit.
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