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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.
In 1671, Jean Picard proposed that the length of a pendulum beating should be the standard unit of length.
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.
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.
To learn more about the history click on the word "History."
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:
Gram Liter
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.
From smallest to greatest they range:
Gram Liter
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1 kilometer |
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1,000 meters |
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1 meter |
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100 centimeters |
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1 centimeter |
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10 millimeters |
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.
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.
Answer the next questions on a sheet of paper and turn them in when you have completed them.
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) 35.45 mg =_____ hg
9) 0.5 l =_____kl
10) 130 dag = ______ kg
Now you can use the metric converter below to check your answers if you like.