- Do you know what they call a Quarter Pounder with cheese in Paris?
John Travolta and Samuel L Jackson in "Pulp Fiction", dialogue written by Quentin Tarantino
To me the use of the metric system is as natural as the air that I breathe
everyday (not taking the pollutions into consideration). But to all those
who find the Anglo-Saxon system just as natural, the metric system is
a weird riddle. Exactly how much is a liter? And what is it a measurement
of? This small school provides you with a few answers...
Also thrown in is the recalculation formula for converting Fahrenheit to
Centigrades and vice versa...
Before the dawn of the metric system, people used different measurements
in different countries, and even within a single country. The situation
was, to put it mildly, chaotic. After the French Revolution, the
chairman of the French National Assembly, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, suggested the
creation of a new system. The system was worked out in detail by a
special committe of the French Academy of Sciences. It was adopted
through law on April 5, 1795. The system thereafter spread throughout
large parts of the world.
Since its birth, the metric system has been slightly altered and modified,
due to increased accuracy in the field of technology.
One tenth of a meter is called a decimeter. One hundredth part of a
meter is called a centimeter. This measurement is used much the same
way as the inch. One thousandth part of a meter is called a millimeter.
A thousand meters are called a kilometer. This measurement is used much
the same way as the mile (speed limits, for instance, are ususally
expressed as kilometres per hour).
When Anglo-Saxons measure people's lengths in feet and inches, the users
of the metric system measure people in centimeters.
| 1 centimeter = 0.3936 inches 1 kilometer = 0.6215 miles |
1 meter = 3.281 feet 1 meter = 1.094 yards |
One thousandth part of a gram is called a milligram. (Medicine doses are
often measured in milligram.) A hundred grams are called a hectogram.
A thousand grams are called a kilogram (kilo). (The kilogram is the official base unit for measurement of mass.) A thousand kilograms makes
a metric ton.
| 1 kilo = 2.205 pounds |
1 gram = 0.035 ounces |
One tenth of a liter is called a deciliter. One hundreth part of a liter
is called a centiliter. One thousandth part of a liter is called a
milliliter. A hundred liters are called a hectoliter (an expression
rarely used).
| 1 liter = 1.76 imperial pints |
1 liter = 2.1173 US pints |
| Prefix Pico |
Decimal Equivalent 0.000000000001 0.000000001 0.000001 0.001 0.01 0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0 1,000.0 1,000,000.0 1,000,000,000.0 1,000,000,000,000.0 |
Exponential Equivalent 10-12 10-9 10-6 10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103 106 109 1012 |
To convert Centigrades into Fahrenheit, use this formula:
X degrees C x 1.8 + 32 = Y degrees F. Vice versa: (X degrees F - 32) / 1.8 = Y degrees C.
If you need to convert metric system values to feet, pints and so on, here's a link that may be useful.
