Which measurement is longer? 7 kilometers or 800 meters?
The correct answer and explanation is:
7 kilometers is longer than 800 meters.
To understand why, it’s important to first convert the units to a common one. Since the two measurements are in different units (kilometers and meters), converting them into meters will make comparison easier.
1 kilometer is equal to 1,000 meters. Therefore, to convert 7 kilometers into meters, multiply 7 by 1,000: 7 kilometers=7×1,000=7,000 meters.7 \, \text{kilometers} = 7 \times 1,000 = 7,000 \, \text{meters}.
Now, compare 7,000 meters to 800 meters. Clearly, 7,000 meters is greater than 800 meters. This shows that 7 kilometers is indeed the longer measurement.
In the metric system, measurements are organized in powers of 10, making conversions relatively simple. For instance, moving from kilometers to meters involves multiplying by 1,000, and moving from meters to kilometers involves dividing by 1,000. Therefore, understanding these relationships helps quickly compare measurements.
In daily life, 7 kilometers is about the length of a long walk or a short drive, while 800 meters is a much shorter distance—roughly the length of 8 football fields laid end to end. Thus, 7 kilometers is significantly longer than 800 meters.
In summary, by converting both measurements to meters, it becomes clear that 7 kilometers (7,000 meters) is longer than 800 meters.