[ 5.1 Measurement ] [ 5.2 Metric System ] [ 5.3 Conversion ][ Back ] [ Next ]

Metric System

The Metric System is important for a couple of reasons. In the U.S., we still use a measurement system based on inches, feet, miles, ounces, pounds, pints, quarts, and gallons. Most measurements made in the rest of the world use the metric system. The metric system has been chosen to be the world standard for measurement. In order to communicate effectively with the rest of the world, it is important to understand the system. We need to be able to convert from one system to the other & vice versa.

Another reason the Metric System is important is that it provides the units of measurement used in science throughout the entire world. This system is easier to use since its various unit prefixes are based on factors of 10. E.g., 1 centimeter = 10 millimeters.

There are the 3 basic units:

  1. meter (m) --unit of length measure (~1 yard)
  2. gram (g) -- unit of weight (or mass) measure (~ 1/30 ounce)
  3. liter (L) -- unit of liquid (or volume) measure (~1 quart)

Some prefixes:

  1. kilo- (k) 1,000
  2. hecto- (h) 100
  3. deka (da) 10
  4. deci- (d) 1/10
  5. centi- (c) 1/100
  6. milli- (m) 1/1000

For example:

  1. 1 kilometer (km) = 1,000 meters
  2. 1 millimeter (mm) = .001 meter
  3. 1 kilogram (kg) = 1,000 grams
  4. 1 mg (milligram) = .001 gram
  5. 1 kL (kiloliter) =1,000 liters
  6. 1 mL (milliliter) = .001 liter

Practice

  1. 5100 grams = kg
  2. 7 meters = mm

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[ 5.1 Measurement ] [ 5.2 Metric System ] [ 5.3 Conversion ]