Metric and Measurements

Unit 1: Science Process Skills

Physical Science

Steinbrink

English System

Measurement system practiced in the United States.

The U.S. is the only industrialized, developed nation to not use Metric

Interesting Facts

The U.S. failed to adopt the metric system as its unit of measurement by one vote in the Continental Congress in the 1770s

Mars Climate Probe

In 1999 NASA scientists and Lockhead scientists assumed each were using the respective units and the probe was lost at a cost of $125 million

One team was working in English measurements while the other was working in metric.

Making the Switch to Metric…

Metric System

The metric system deals with the following units:

Length = Meter

Mass = Gram

Volume = Liter

Most commonly practiced system in the world—95% of the world uses metric

Le Systeme Internationale

Le Systeme Internationale was adopted in 1960.

Based on the metric system, SI is a comprehensive system of units

SI system uses prefixes to make the metric system units more practical

Used by scientists

SI versus Metric

Metric only deals with the base unit of measurement where as SI adds prefixes to the base units to adjust the size.

Example: metric--grams SI -- centigrams,

milligrams

Metric Prefixes

Kilo….Hecto…Deka…base…deci…centi…milli

King

Henry

Died

by

drinking

chocolate

milk

The End