Metric Wins!

There have been many metric systems, or systems of measurement. On 7 April 1795 the National Convention of France decreed new "Republican Measures" to be legal measures in France. The units of measurement included the meter, liter, and gram; the prefixes centi, deci, deca, hecto, and kilo were also sanctioned. This was the decimal system of measurement or the decimal metric system. It has survived practically unchanged and now is known simply as the metric system. The latest version of the system is the International System of Units or SI for short. It is used by 95% of the world's population "A TOUS LES TEMPS; A TOUS LES PEUPLES" ("FOR ALL TIME; FOR ALL PEOPLES") The decimal nature of the Metric System makes conversions among units much easier. Try the following examples to see why.

Author(s):

Joseph B. Reid

Date Accepted: 2001-06-18 Grade Group: Upper Elementary (3-5) Benchmarks: M2.2.1 M2.2.2 M2.2.4 M2.2.5 M2.2.10 M2.3.4 M2.3.10 M2.3.11 M3.2.1 M3.2.6 M3.3.1 M4.2.10 M4.2.16 M4.3.3 M4.3.4 Keywords: metric system inch-pound system units conversion of units Microsoft Word: 03_08_01_1.docx PDF Document: 03_08_01_1.pdf

Public Comments

September 6, 2006
The ease of the Metric system has with computing and converting numbers is well known and well documented. The ease of visualizing and estimating distances, weights, volume, etc. goes hands down to the Standard American Weights and Measures. This only applies to those who have the system ingrained in them.

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