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Understanding Metrics
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For those of you who don’t know, the
metric system is a way of measuring things, that doesn’t use feet, quarts,
or inches. Even though many people
don’t know how to use it, it is the dominant form of measurement in the
world. In fact, there are only 3
countries in the world that don’t use it as their official form of
measurement: Liberia; Myanmar; and us.
So in the game of Meters vs. Feet, the
score is 199 to 3.
The odds of Metrics losing, is highly
unlikely.
We’ve got a lot of catching up to do,
let’s get started.
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Length
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The standard unit of length in the metric
system is the meter. Other units of length and their equivalents in
meters are as follows:
1 millimeter = 0.001 meter
1 centimeter = 0.01 meter
1 decimeter = 0.1 meter
1 kilometer = 1000 meters
We abbreviate these lengths as follows:
1 millimeter = 1 mm
1 centimeter = 1 cm
1 meter = 1 m
1 decimeter = 1 dm
1 kilometer = 1 km
For reference, 1 meter is a little
longer than 1 yard or 3 feet. It is about half the height of a very
tall adult. A centimeter is nearly the diameter of a dime, a little less
than half an inch. A millimeter is about the thickness of a dime.
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Volume
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The standard unit of volume in the metric
system is the liter. One liter is equal to 1000 cubic centimeters in
volume. Other units of volume and their equivalents in liters are as
follows:
1 milliliter = 0.001 liter
1 centiliter = 0.01 liter
1 deciliter = 0.1 liter
1 kiloliter = 1000
liters
From these units, we see that 1000 milliliters
equal 1 liter; so 1 milliliter equals 1 cubic centimeter in volume. We
abbreviate these volumes as follows:
1 milliliter = 1 ml
1 centiliter = 1 cl
1 deciliter = 1 dl
1 liter = 1 l
1 kiloliter = 1 kl
For reference, 1 liter is a little more
than 1 quart. One teaspoon equals about 5 milliliters.
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Mass
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The standard unit of mass in the metric
system is the gram. Other units of mass and their equivalents in
grams are as follows:
1 milligram = 0.001 gram
1 centigram = 0.01 gram
1 decigram = 0.1 gram
1 kilogram = 1000 grams
We abbreviate these masses as follows:
1 milligram = 1 mg
1 centigram = 1 cg
1 decigram = 1 dg
1 gram = 1 g
1 kilogram = 1 kg
For reference, 1 gram is about the mass
of a paper clip. One kilogram is about the mass of a liter of water.
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Time
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The following conversions are useful when
working with time:
1 minute = 60 seconds
1 hour = 60 minutes = 3600 seconds
1 day = 24 hours
1 week = 7 days
1 year = 365 1/4 days (for the Earth to travel
once around the sun)
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Temperature
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Temperature is expressed in degrees
Celsius in the metric system. The boiling point of water (at sea
level) is 100°Celsius, or 100°C. The freezing point of water (at sea
level) is 0° Celsius. A hot day is about 30° Celsius.
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Decimals in measurement
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The prefixes for the different units of
length, volume, and mass in the metric system obey the following rules:
Prefix Multiply
by
milli- 0.001
centi- 0.01
deci- 0.1
deka- 10
hecto- 100
kilo- 1000
So for example:
1 hectometer = 100 meters
1 centigram = 0.01 gram
3 milliliters = 3 × (0.001 liters) = 0.003
liters
0.9 kilometers = 0.9 × (1000 meters) = 900
meters
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