Metric System Unit 1 (Metric! EAS 100 (for reference purposes) Prof. L.W. Braile 8/01)

Why Metric? Metric system is MUCH easier ALL metric units are related by factors of 10

Why Metric? Nearly the entire world (95%), except the United States, now uses the metric system U.S. still uses the English System

Why Metric? Metric is used exclusively in science If we all learn the metric system (even non-scientists), understanding of scientific and technical issues will be enhanced

Why Metric? Because the metric units are all factors of ten And the types of units (distance, area, volume, mass) are simply-related performing calculations is much easier! (fewer mistakes, less confusion, more understanding)

Liquids English System inches cubed (in3) quarts gallons barrel bushel Metric System centimeters cubed (cm3) milliliters liters meters cubed (m3) BASE UNITS liter or m3

Mass English System grains ounces (oz) pounds (lbs) short tons Metric System milligrams grams kilograms metric tons Base Units gram or kg

Length (distance) English System inches feet yards miles Metric System millimeters centimeters meters kilometers Base Units meter or km

Temperature English System Fahrenheit Metric System Celsius Kelvin Basic Unit

Time English System millisecond second minute hour day week month year Metric System microsecond millisecond second decasecond kilosecond Base Unit prefixes larger than a second rarely used Such lengths of time are relatively impractical for measuring human activities