  As of 2007, America, Liberia, and Myanmar are the only countries that do not officially use the “metric system”.

American Units and International System (SI) Equivalents: › › › Length  1 inch = 2.54 cm   1 yard = 0.91 m 1 mile = 1.6 km Volume  1 quart = 0.95 L  1 gallon = 3.78 L Mass  1ounce = 28.35 g  1 pound = 0.45 kg

   The metric system was first adopted in France in 1791. It is based on our base ten number system (which is based on us having 10 fingers and 10 toes to count on).

In science, we use the metric system in order to share data and results from our quantitative observations and experiments.

 Prefixes help show the size of the unit.

› 1000 = kilo (k) › › 100 = hecto (h) 10 = deka (D) › › › › Base units - meter (m), gram (g), liter (L) .1 = deci (d) .01 = centi (c) .001 = milli (m)

To convert to larger unit, divide by 10, or move

decimal to left.

kilo hecto Deka [meter, gram, liter] deci centi milli To convert to smaller unit, multiply by 10, or move

decimal to right.