1. Metric System

2. History
Gabriel Mouton, the vicar of St. Paul's Church in Lyon, was the first to propose a new system of measurement which was to be defined based on the Earth's measurements.
During the French Revolution, in 1970, The National Assembly of France asked the French Academy of Science to create a standard measuring system that was "for all people, for all time." In 1972, Jean Delambre and Pierre Mechain went out to do necessary calculations to create the metric system.

3. In 1671, Jean Picard proposed that the length of a pendulum beating should be the standard unit of length.
Seven years later, in 1977, the metric system became a fact in France. It is the universal language of measurement of all countries. It is used in scientific and medical profession, the armed services, and in international relations.

4. Units Within the Metric System
The metric system is the most widely used system of measurement in the world. It is a more universal measurement standard as compared to the customary system used in the United States.
The three basic units of the metric system are the meter, gram, and liter:
The gram measures weight.
The meter measures length.
The liter measures capacity.
thousands
hundreds
tens
basic unit
tenths
hundredths
thousandths
1000
100 10 1
0.1
0.01
0.001
kilo-
hecto-
deca-
Meter
Gram
Liter
deci-
centi-
milli-

5. Real-Life Connection A millimeter is about how thick a dime is.
A centimeter is how wide one of your fingernails is.
A kilometer is a little more than half of a mile.

6. From smallest to greatest they range:
Milli-
centi-
Deci-
Meter
Gram
liter
Deca-
Hecto-
Kilo-
1 kilometer =
1,000 meters
1 meter
100 centimeters
1 centimeter
10 millimeters

7. This system is based on the decimal system and base units of 10s
This system is based on the decimal system and base units of 10s. There are two ways to convert measurements:
All the measurements can either be multiplied or divided by 10, 100, 1,000, and so on. You can follow these short 3 steps if you are not sure what to do.
1. Count the number of zeros in the number you are multiplying or dividing by.
2. If you are multiplying, move the decimal point this number of places to the right.
3. If you are dividing, move the decimal point this number of place to the left.

8. You also can convert metric measurements by using a chart and moving the decimal according to how you would move on the chart. Follow these steps.
1. Find the unit on the table you are given with.
2. Find the unit on the table you are going to convert into.
3. Count the number of places you must move on the chart to go from the unit in step 1 to the unit in step 2.
4. Move the decimal point that number of times in the problem.

9. Drill and Practice Answer the next questions on a sheet of paper.
Write the equivalents.
1) 18 m =_____ cm
2) 167 mm =_____mm
3) 500 kg = _____g
4) 23 dm =_____hm
5) 1,589 dl =_____dm
6) 700 ml =_____kl
7) 5 cm = _____mm
8) mg =_____ hg
9) 0.5 l =_____kl
10) 130 dag = ______ kg

10. Try on metric calculator
metric converter