1. CHALLENGE
If you show a good knowledge of the English measurement system, you can skip all test questions related to the metric system.

2. FRUIT DRINKS
If these are one quart each, how many gallons are here?

3. Dry Quart larger than Liquid Quart
Strawberries and other fruits are often sold in one quart containers. Are these quarts the same size as a quart of strawberry juice? No
Dry Quart larger than Liquid Quart
Dry Quart = 1.07 Liquid Quarts

4. What does 8 quarts of strawberries make?
One peck

5. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
How many ounces of gold does it take to make a pound?
It’s not 16, because gold is measured in troy ounces, which takes 12 troy ounces to make a pound
This is a cap from a RC cola bottle? How much does the RC cola weigh?
You don’t know what it weighs because here the 16 OZ. stands for fluid ounces.

6. 1 pound each. These are 16 oz gloves. How many pounds do each weigh?
The ounces that are used as weight for most items are called avoirdupois ounces. “Avoirdupois” means to have weight.

7. Apothecary System used in medicine
Based on the weight of one grain of wheat.
20 grains make a scruple
3 scruples make a dram
8 drams make a ounce
12 ounces make a pound (troy pound)

8. MARS CLIMATE ORBITER
Here is a story about a project that shows the importance of knowing units of measurement. It’s about the Mars Climate Orbiter space probe.

9. Millions of dollars and several years of work were put into building this Mars space probe that was going to be able to analyze weather and take pictures of Mars’ surface.

10. Careful work under “clean room” conditions helped guarantee its success. Also, notice the scales holding the probe to keep accurate control of its mass, which of course is important in space travel.

11. On December 11, 1998 the Mars Climate Orbiter was launched using a Delta rocket. All systems looked good.

12. On September 23, 1999 (nine months later), the Mars Climate Orbiter was scheduled to begin its orbit of Mars and begin its mission of collecting climate data.
However, something went wrong, and the space probe was lost.

13. The loss of the the Mars Climate Orbiter on September 23, 1999, was a most unfortunate and highly avoidable event.
The cause of the mishap has been traced to a mix-up over units. Preliminary findings indicated that one team used English units (e.g., inches, feet and pounds) while the other used metric units for maneuvers required to place the spacecraft in the proper Mars orbit.
The 'root cause' of the loss of the spacecraft was the failed translation of English units into metric units.
For nearly three centuries, engineers and scientists have been struggling with the English units.
The loss of the the Mars Climate Orbiter on September 23, 1999, was a most unfortunate and highly avoidable event.
The cause of the mishap has been traced to a mix-up over units. Preliminary findings indicated that one team used English units (e.g., inches, feet and pounds) while the other used metric units for maneuvers required to place the spacecraft in the proper Mars orbit.
The 'root cause' of the loss of the spacecraft was the failed translation of English units into metric units.
For nearly three centuries, engineers and scientists have been struggling with the English units.

14. English system of weight does not lend itself to space travel.
In weightlessness 454 grams is still 454 grams; however, 1 pound will be zero pounds in zero gravity.
What is the English unit for mass?
In the English system the unit for mass is the slug.
The mass called slug is not a real slug like here, but it has the same name. The slug of mass would weigh 32 lbs on Earth.

15. Weight versus Mass
Remember weight is the pull of gravity on mass. This dirigible might weigh zero lbs because air under is lifting up on it. However, it still has considerable mass. In the metric system of grams and kilograms, they are talking about mass, not weight (which is a force)

16. Another English unit is BTU This air conditioner is rated at 18,000 BTU per hour.
What does BTU stand for and what does it measure?
British Thermal Units = Energy to raise or lower 1 pound of water 1 degree Fahrenheit

17. Seabiscuit’s races like most horse races goes for 10 furlongs
Seabiscuit’s races like most horse races goes for 10 furlongs. How far is that?
1 furlong (an English unit) is 1/8th of mile. So 10 furlongs is 1 ¼ miles.

18. What if gallons were different sizes in different cities?

19. What if clothing sizes were different in different cities?

20. You would always get the wrong size clothes

21. In his first annual message to Congress (1790 January), President George Washington pressed for uniformity in currency, weights, and measures. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson urged Congress to reduce the existing separate systems of dry and liquid measures to one set of measures.
Jefferson
Washington
Over 200 years later, we still have separate systems. For example, our dry quart is larger than our liquid quart, so four cups of flour and 4 cups of milk should be measured with separate measuring devices-which differ in size!
Jefferson's second plan put before Congress was to reduce every branch [of measurement] to the same decimal ratio already established for coin, and thus bring the calculations of the principal affairs of life within the arithmetic of every man who can multiply and divide plain numbers.
Congress took no action.  Washington urged action again in his second annual message to Congress (1790 December 08) and the House referred the matter to the Senate, whose committee in this matter declined (1791 March 01) due to negotiations in progress with the French and British Governments to obtain an international standards of measurements.

22. In the same year of 1790 King Louis XVI of France was also weary of the inconsistencies of measurement that was hurting trade.
He ordered a new system of measurements be developed.

23. Earlier in that century, Fahrenheit and Celsius used water as the basis of their thermometers. Their thermometers were calibrated using water, which everyone had access to. This made their thermometers useful.
Celsius
Fahrenheit

24. Everyone has access to the Earth, so this new system was to be based on the size of the Earth.
The idea was to measure a part of Earth’s surface over a few degrees, then calculate distance from Equator to North Pole.

25. A survey team was suppose to measure the distance between Barcelona, Spain going through Paris and up to the English Channel.
A survey team accurately measured the distance from Barcelona, Spain through Paris, and to the English Channel. They also measured how many degrees the angle was on the Earth. From this they could calculate the distance from the equator to the North Pole.

26. By dividing the distance from the equator to the north pole by 10 million, a convenient length was defined.
Meter
It was a little longer than a yard, and the name would be from the Greek word, Metron, meaning to measure.

27. 40,000,000 meters 40,000 km 1 kilometer=1,000 meters
10 million meters 10 million meters 10 million meters 10 million meters
Circumference of the Earth would then be 40,000,000 meters if ¼ was 10 million.
In kilometers, that would be 40,000 kilometers.

28. Based on 10 & using Arabic Numerals
Since the number system in use was no longer Roman Numerals, but the decimal number system borrowed from the Arab worlds and from India, the measurement system should also be based on 10 to make conversions easy.

29. Since we have 10 fingers, a number system based on 10 was developed.

30. Place Value
Roman Numerals did not take advantage of place value. X in Roman Numerals meant ten. XXX meant thirty. It didn’t matter where the X was placed; it always had the value of 10

31. Modern number systems use place value
Modern number systems use place value. In other words, a numeral has a different value depending where it’s placed.
2222.0

32. 4/20/01
0.5 versus 5

34. Multiplying & Dividing by 10
Because of place value, we can multiply by ten by moving all digits to the left (or you can look at it as the decimal point moving to the right.)
25. x 10 = 250.
Dividing by 10 is just the reverse.

35. Decimal
The word decimal from from Latin decimalis meaning “of a tithe” A tithe was traditionally one tenth of income, so deci- meant one tenth.
The new measuring system should also be based on tens and tenths.

36. Metrics: Earth, water, and fingers
The Metric system gets all of its measurement from Earth and water while following the simplicity of 10 fingers.

37. 10 million meters 10 million meters 10 million meters 10 million meters

38. METER Cubits Yards Miles Nautical Miles Feet Hands Inches Leagues
All these English measurements can be eliminated by going to the meter.
Cubits
Yards
Miles
Nautical Miles
Feet
Hands
Inches
Leagues
Chains
Furlongs
METER

39. sq. miles sq. yards sq. ft. sq. in. acres
SQUARE
METER

40. Cubic decimeter CUBIC LITER METER
Barrel Cubin inches Cubic feet Cubic yards Minims Drops
Gallons, imperial gallons, quarts, pints, fluid ounces, pecks, bushels
Cubic decimeter
CUBIC
LITER
METER
1/1000 of a cubic meter is a cubic decimeter which we refer to a a Liter.

41. cubic centimeter cubic decimeter milliliter LITER
1/1000 of a liter is a cubic centimeter also called a milliliter.
cubic centimeter
cubic decimeter
milliliter
LITER

42. You are not changing the size, just the name.
CONVERSIONS
You are not changing the size, just the name.

43. Convert 0.15 meters to centimeters
Starting amount
equal
End Amount
0.15 meters
1 centi
= centimeters
.01
0.15 meters = meters
= 15 centimeters
100
If saying 15 hundredths, just say 15 centi-

44. Convert 5234 millimeters to meters
Starting amount
equal
End Amount
5234 millimeters
0.001
= meters
milli
5234 millimeters meters
1000

45. Convert 5234 millimeters to centimeters
Starting amount
equal
equal
End Amount
5234 millimeters
0.001
centi
= centimeters
milli
0.01
5234. millimeters
523.4 centimeters

46. Convert 5234 millimeters to inches
Units match
Starting amount
equal
equal
End Amount
2.54 cm 1 inch
1 inch 2.54 cm
5234 millimeters
0.001
centi
= inches
milli
0.01

47. I wonder how many pennies are in
1 mega buck?

48. Units Match!
1 M$
1 x 108
= cents

49. Convert 21 grams per liter (21 g/L) to milligrams per milliliter (mg/mL)
Starting amount
equal
equal
End Amount
21 grams Liter
milli 0.001
0.001 milli
= mg mL

50. Convert 21 mg per liter (21 g/L) to grams per 100 cc
Starting amount
equal
equal
equal
End Amount
21 mg Liter
0.001 milli
1L 1000cc
= g cc

51. cm=centimeter cc=cubic cm milli- m thousandth 1/1000 = 0.001 10-3
Examples
mega- M
million
1,000,000
106
kilo- k
thousand
1,000
103
kilograms
deci- d
tenth
1/10 = 0.1
10-1
dm3=liter
centi- c
hundredth
1/100 = 0.01
10-2
cm=centimeter cc=cubic cm
milli- m
thousandth
1/1000 = 0.001
10-3
mg=milligram mL=milliliter
micro-
millionth
1/1,000,000 =
10-6
µg=microgram
nano- n
billionth
1/1,000,000,000 =
10-9
nm=nanometers
Metric facts: 1 cubic centimeter = 1 milliliter (1 cc=1mL) Liter = 1 cubic decimeter = 1,000 cubic centimeters = 1,000 milliliters Lower case “m” stands for meter or “milli”. Capital “L” for liter.