How to Understand the Metric System
The metric system is a system of measurement used in many parts of the world. The United States is one of the last countries to use traditional measurements like inches, miles, pounds, quarts and gallons. Understanding metric measurements is important if you want to travel or live overseas. Knowing the metric system is a requirement for scientists.
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Instructions
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The metric system works on multiples of 10 applied to the basic measurement. The basic measurements are the gram for weight or mass, the meter for length and the liter for volume or capacity.
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The basic metric measurements have prefixes that change the unit size by a factor of 10. Going smaller, deci is 1/10, centi is 1/100 and milli is 1/100. For example, the commonly used centimeter is 1/100th of a meter. Going larger, deka is 10 times, hecto is 100 times and a kilo is 1,000 times. Kilo is used most often as in kilometer and kilogram.
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Learn the most commonly used metric measurements. For length, the centimeter, meter and kilometer are used in place of inches, yards and miles. For weight, the kilogram replaces pounds. Grams and milligrams are small weight measures and the metric ton is a 1,000 kilograms. The liter replaces the quart for larger volumes, centiliters for ounces and milliliters for small volumes. The hectare is used to measure land and is 10,000 square meters.
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Learn some conversion factors so you can start thinking of items in metric sizes. An inch is 2.54 centimeters, a meter is 1.09 yards and a kilometer is 0.62 miles. A liter is 1.06 quarts. A kilogram is 2.2 lbs and it takes 28.6 g to equal 1 oz. The hectare is equal to 2.47 acres. Start to look at the object in your world in terms of liters, kilograms and kilometers.
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In the English system, a 1 oz. volume of water weighs 1 oz. and 1 pint (16 oz.) of water weighs 1 lb. The metric system works the same way. A liter of water weighs 1 kilogram. So a milliliter weighs 1 g and has a volume of 1 cubic centimeter.
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Now that you understand how the metric system fits together, start looking for metric measurements. You will find them on packaging labels and on your car speedometer. When you read websites that talk about grams or liters or kilometers, take time to calculate what the equal quantity is in the English system. Soon you will understand how the metric system works for everyday life.
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Tips & Warnings
For car and motorcycle buffs, a cubic inch is equal to 16.4 cubic centimeters or 16.4 ccs. For scientists, it is important to learn exponential math when using the metric system.
