1. Introduction to the Metric System

2. History Called Systeme International d’Unitès, Revised periodically
or SI - International System of Units
Revised periodically
by International Bureau of Weight and Measures

3. Customary Units of Measurement
The English System
a collection of functionally unrelated units
Difficult to convert from one unit to another
Ex. 1 ft = 12 inches = 0.33 yard = 1/5280 miles
Customary Units
length - inch, foot, yard, mile
weight/mass - ounce, pound
volume - teaspoon, cup, quart, gallon
temperature - degrees Fahrenheit , KELVIN
time - minutes, hours

4. Advantages of Using the Metric System
Universal - used everywhere
by all scientists to communicate
by all industrialized nations
except United States
U.S. loses billions of dollars in trade

5. Advantages of Using the Metric System
Simple to use
A few base units make up all measurements
length - meter
mass - grams
volume - liters
temperature – degrees Celsius
time - seconds

6. Advantages of Using the Metric System
There is only one unit of measurement for each type of quantity
To simplify things, very small and very large numbers are expressed as multiples of the base unit.
Prefixes are used to represent how much smaller or larger the quantity is compared to the base unit.
Easy to convert from one unit to another
shift decimal point right
shift decimal point left

7. Advantages of Using the Metric System
Same set of prefixes for all units
Greek - multiples of the base
kilo × the base
hecto × the base
deka - 10 × the base
Latin - fractions of the base
deci - tenths of the base
centi - hundredths of the base
milli - thousandths of the base

8. Metric Prefixes

9. Units of Length Length - the distance between two points
standard unit is meter (m)
long distances are measured in km
Measured using a meter stick or ruler

10. Prefixes and Units of Length
centimeter - cm
1 m = 100 cm
1 cm = 1/100th m
millimeter - mm
1 m = 1000 mm
1 mm = 1/1000th m
10 mm = 1 cm
measures very small lengths
kilometer - km
1 km = 1000 m
1 m = 1/1000th km
measures long distances

11. Measuring Mass Mass - the quantity of matter in an object
standard unit is gram (g)
Measured using a digital scale or triple beam balance

12. Measuring Volume and Capacity
Volume - the amount of space occupied by an object
standard unit is liter (L)
1 L = 1000 ml = 1000 cm3 = 1 dm3
Measured using a graduated cylinder
Capacity - a measure of the volume inside a container

13. Prefixes and Units of Volume STOP HERE
Liter - L
1 L = 1000 milliliters
1 L = 1000 cubic centimeters = 1000 cm3
milliliter - mL
measures small volumes
1 mL = 1 cubic centimeter
1000 mL = 1 Liter
1 mL = 1/1000th liter
kiloliter - kL
measures large volumes
1 kL = 1000 L

14. Unit Conversion Practice
Example: Convert 4 ounces to kilograms.