By Tens and Tenths Metric Measurement Hannah Stevens

Earliest Standards Span, palm, digit, foot King Henry I: yard Bishop Charles Maurice de Talleyrand –1790: swinging pendulum French Academy of Sciences –Meridian arc

Metric Prefixes Greek –gigameter= 1,000,000,000 meters –megameter= 1,000,000 meters –kilometer= 1000 meters –hectometer= 100 meters –decameter= 10 meters meter= 1 meter Latin –decimeter=.1 meter –centimeter=.01 meters –millimeter=.001 meters –micrometer= meters –nanometer= meters

The System Design –Kilogram = liter –Grade vs. Radian a = s/r 1875: Treaty of the Meter

International System of Units (SI) Lengthmeterm Masskilogramkg Timeseconds Electric currentampereA ThermodynamicKelvinK temperature Amount of molemol substance Luminous intensitycandelacd

The Meter Redefined 1960 –1,650, x wavelength from krypton –Distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second

Metrics in the US 1866 law legalizes use Treaty of the Meter Metric Conversion Act of 1975 Other countries: –Liberia –Myanmar

Conversions 1 US gallon = 3.79 liters 1 US quart = 0.95 liters 1 US pound = 0.45 kilograms To convert temperature: –Celsius = (5/9)*(Fahrenheit – 32) Metric mile = 1.5 kilometers

Sources Berlinghoff, William P. and Fernando Q. Gouvea. Math Through the Ages: A Gentle History for Teachers and Others. Farmington, ME: Oxford House Publishers, International System of Units from NIST. October NIST. 27 Jan