Metric System (SI)

for
all people
for
all time
Also in 1790, on the home front,

In his first annual message to

Congress, Washington pressed
for uniformity in currency,
weights and measures.

Jeffersons Plan: to reduce

every branch [of measurement]
to the same decimal ratio
already established for coin, and
thus bring the calculations of the
principal affairs of life within the
arithmetic of every man who can
multiply and divide plain
numbers.
measure a part of Earths surface over a few degrees, then
calculate distance from Equator to North Pole
10 fingers, so..
8 quarts = 1 peck
 Apothecary system..
Based on the weight of one grain of wheat.
20 grains make a scruple
3 scruples make a dram
8 drams make a ounce
12 ounces make a pound (troy pound)
 OOPS
Designed to orbit Mars as the first
interplanetary weather satellite, the Mars
Orbiter was lost in 1999 because the Nasa
team used metric units while a contractor used
imperial. The $125m probe came too close to
Mars as it tried to manoeuvre into orbit, and is
thought to have been destroyed by the planet's
atmosphere. An investigation said the "root
cause" of the loss was the "failed translation of
English units into metric units" in a piece of
ground software.
 Why is the base unit for mass
kilogram??
The kilogram is the only SI base unit which
includes a prefix.
It is also the only base unit defined by an
artifact rather than a fundamental physical
property that can be represented in different
laboratories.
For more on this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMByI4s
-D-Y
SI derived quantities/units
Some derived quantities/units
The Square Meter
H2O: 1 g = 1 cm3
 Advantages
A single unit for any quantity (base unit);
NO conversion factors!

Multiples and submultiples related to base

unit by powers of 10; convert by moving
decimal point!

All prefixes for each quantity are the same!

 Metric System Practice
1. Perform the following metric
conversions:

a) 2000 mg = _____ g
b) 75 mL = _____ L
c) 0.25 km = _____ mm
 Which is greater..
2. Compare the following using >,
<, or = .

a) 63 cm ____ 6 m
b) 5 g ____ 508 mg
c) 1500 mL ____ 1.5 L
 Complete the following table:
Prefix exponential term symbol
mega- _______ _____

______ 102 _____

kilo- _______ ____

_____ _______ m

_____ 101 ____

Make the following metric conversions.

a) Johns python measures 605 cm long. How

many meters is the snake? ________
b) Francine weighed 5.32 kg at birth. How many
grams did she weigh?
c) Maile drank 4.2 L of tea today. How many
deciliters did she drink?
d) Estimate the average height of an adult male
(check all that apply):
a. 0.05 km b. 2.0 x 106 m c. 6000 mm d. 1.99 m