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TEAS 7 Math: The Metric Conversions Guide (No Calculator Needed)

By Michael O'Connor, B.S. · Published April 10, 2026

Medical and math measurements for TEAS 7 prep
What metric conversions do I need for the TEAS?

You must memorize the standard medical conversions from memory. Specifically: kilograms to pounds, milligrams to micrograms, Celsius to Fahrenheit, and liters to milliliters. No conversion chart is provided on test day.

Metric conversions appear on nearly every single version of the TEAS 7 Math section. The good news? You do not need to memorize complicated math to solve them.

Because the nursing field relies entirely on the metric system (calculating drug dosages, measuring fluids, etc.), the TEAS uses this section to test a crucial foundational skill. If you can move a decimal point, you can answer every TEAS metric question correctly. Let's look at the absolute easiest way to handle these problems.

📋 From the Tutor's Desk

As a former standardized test writer, I intentionally designed distractors (wrong answers) to catch students who multiplied instead of divided. The "King Henry" method I teach below makes it impossible to fall for those traps because you aren't doing math—you're just sliding a decimal point left or right. It's foolproof.

The "King Henry" Slider Method

The metric system is a base-10 system. This means that converting between units is as simple as multiplying or dividing by 10. The easiest way to visualize this is using an acronym:

King Henry Died By Drinking Chocolate Milk

  • King = Kilo (1,000)
  • Henry = Hecto (100)
  • Died = Deca (10)
  • By = Base Unit (Meters, Liters, Grams)
  • Drinking = Deci (0.1)
  • Chocolate = Centi (0.01)
  • Milk = Milli (0.001)

To convert from one unit to another, write down K H D B D C M. Put your pencil on the unit you are starting with, and count how many "hops" it takes to get to your target unit. Then, move your decimal point the exact same number of spaces in the exact same direction.

💡 Tutor’s Tip: Most students forget that "Base Unit" stands for Meters, Liters, and Grams. If a question asks you to convert 4.5 Kilograms to Grams, you are jumping from "K" to "B", which is 3 spaces to the right. 4.5 becomes 4500 grams!

The "Big Three" Nursing Conversions

While the TEAS can test any metric prefix, they heavily favor three specific conversions because these are the ones you will use most often in clinical settings. Memorize these, and you won't even need the King Henry trick:

Milligrams to Grams

1,000 mg = 1 g

Move decimal 3 places

Milliliters to Liters

1,000 mL = 1 L

Move decimal 3 places

Centimeters to Meters

100 cm = 1 m

Move decimal 2 places

Micrograms (mcg): The TEAS Trap

Notice that Micrograms (mcg) are not in the standard "King Henry" acronym. This metric unit is microscopic, but it is heavily used in pediatric nursing and pharmacology. The TEAS WILL test you on it.

1,000 micrograms (mcg) = 1 milligram (mg)

If you need to go from Grams all the way down to Micrograms, you are moving the decimal point six spaces to the right. Just remember that a microgram is one step smaller than a milligram.

Practical Example

Question: A patient is prescribed 2.5 Liters of normal saline over 24 hours. How many milliliters (mL) is this?

  1. Write down K H D B D C M
  2. Starting unit is Liters. That's a Base Unit (B).
  3. Target unit is milliliters. That's Milli (M).
  4. To get from B to M, we jump 3 spaces to the right.
  5. Take 2.5, slide the decimal 3 spaces right. 2.5 → 25 → 250 → 2500.

Answer: 2,500 mL

Metric conversions are guaranteed free points on the TEAS 7 if you strictly use the sliding decimal technique. To drill these concepts, we highly recommend taking a free TEAS practice quiz.

Metric Conversions FAQs

You can expect between 2 to 4 direct metric conversion questions, plus another 3 to 5 questions where metric conversion is one necessary step of a larger problem.
Yes. While not strictly metric, temperature conversions often appear in the same sections. Memorize: C = (F - 32) × 5/9.
Yes, but you don't need to. Since the metric system is base-10, sliding the decimal point left or right is much faster and less prone to typing errors.
Yes. Memorize that 1 inch = 2.54 cm, and 1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds. These are heavily tested.

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