Re: Metric crash course
Cool Jim,
There's a "Hector-Litre"? As a measure of liquid? How prophetic.
Now how many pimts of bitters in a colld Hecto-Litre of Guiness?
Peter Lenihan will be soooooo jealous. Or is the Leni-Litre?
Bruce Hector
Slowly trying to discover the dreaded hecotlitre of Guiness, Harp.
Smithwicks or (God forbit) Maudite for fun and quaffing. Canada has
been metric since the 70's but its all Greek to me.
There's a "Hector-Litre"? As a measure of liquid? How prophetic.
Now how many pimts of bitters in a colld Hecto-Litre of Guiness?
Peter Lenihan will be soooooo jealous. Or is the Leni-Litre?
Bruce Hector
Slowly trying to discover the dreaded hecotlitre of Guiness, Harp.
Smithwicks or (God forbit) Maudite for fun and quaffing. Canada has
been metric since the 70's but its all Greek to me.
Jim Goeckermann wrote:
pretty much deprecated. You can get by with kilo and milli.
Centimeters are still used, but you never see centiliters
or centigrams around here.
I am studying drafting at the moment and all dimensions
are in millimeters. No fractions (or even decimal fractions)
to deal with. No errors due to misinterpreting the units.
Bruce Fountain
Senior Software Engineer
Union Switch & Signal
Perth, Western Australia
> Step three. Just memorized the list of prefixes in order with "meterActually, prefixes hecto, deka, deci and even centi are
> liter gram" in the middle.
> kilo, hecto, deka, (meter liter gram), deci, centi, milli.
pretty much deprecated. You can get by with kilo and milli.
Centimeters are still used, but you never see centiliters
or centigrams around here.
I am studying drafting at the moment and all dimensions
are in millimeters. No fractions (or even decimal fractions)
to deal with. No errors due to misinterpreting the units.
Bruce Fountain
Senior Software Engineer
Union Switch & Signal
Perth, Western Australia
Ah, but if I recall my history lessons of half a
century ago, your country originally legislated to go
metric in 1896, yes, 1896! But the legislation never
made it through. A far superior system....
Andrew Wallace, New Zealand.
--- Jim Goeckermann <jim@...> wrote: > Shame
on us as a country for not going metric harder
http://au.movies.yahoo.com
century ago, your country originally legislated to go
metric in 1896, yes, 1896! But the legislation never
made it through. A far superior system....
Andrew Wallace, New Zealand.
--- Jim Goeckermann <jim@...> wrote: > Shame
on us as a country for not going metric harder
> sooner....Find local movie times and trailers on Yahoo! Movies.
http://au.movies.yahoo.com
Here's a few more "facts", maybe this will help some of you achieve
the insight we all seek -
One inch = 2.54 centimeters EXACTLY, by international agreement.
One gram is the weight of one cubic centimeter of water.
So, 1,000 cc of water weigh 1,000 grams;
therefore, 1 liter of water weighs one kilogram!
Furthermore, one cubic meter is 1,000 liters, which weighs 1,000
kilograms (1 metric ton, or about 2,200 pounds).
Now, to add spark to this, the metric system has had to be modified
since it's origin in France in 1799. This is due to improvements in
the accuracy of the measurements that the standards are based upon.
Some will say that the statements I made above are technically
incorrect, and at a near atomic level, they are incorrect. However,
as far as the average person with micrometers, milligram scales, and
graduated cylinders is concerned, they are more than accurate enough.
-Jerry
Mechanical Engineer - living with both systems in America.
Then again, I've believed I know everything before - blast away!
the insight we all seek -
One inch = 2.54 centimeters EXACTLY, by international agreement.
One gram is the weight of one cubic centimeter of water.
So, 1,000 cc of water weigh 1,000 grams;
therefore, 1 liter of water weighs one kilogram!
Furthermore, one cubic meter is 1,000 liters, which weighs 1,000
kilograms (1 metric ton, or about 2,200 pounds).
Now, to add spark to this, the metric system has had to be modified
since it's origin in France in 1799. This is due to improvements in
the accuracy of the measurements that the standards are based upon.
Some will say that the statements I made above are technically
incorrect, and at a near atomic level, they are incorrect. However,
as far as the average person with micrometers, milligram scales, and
graduated cylinders is concerned, they are more than accurate enough.
-Jerry
Mechanical Engineer - living with both systems in America.
Then again, I've believed I know everything before - blast away!
--- Inbolger@yahoogroups.com, Jim Goeckermann <jim@s...> wrote:
> Shame on us as a country for not going metric harder sooner.... but
as a
> 6th grade teacher I try to do my part. Here is a VERY short, easy
to
> remember way to jump in. (for reference, a closed fist is 10 cm,
2.54
> centimeters is an inch.)
> Step one. Get over it - the metric system is so much better, and
most
> can't use our system despite what they think. (OK, how many
teaspoons in
> a pint? How many yards in a mile? How many grains in a pound? Get
my
> drift?)
> Step two. There are three "areas" of measurement, but they all use
the
> same "prefixes" based on TEN, just like money. (You CAN compute how
many
> pennies in a ten dollar bill, right?) Meter (length, area) Liter
> (liquid) and Gram (weight) are the units.
> Step three. Just memorized the list of prefixes in order
with "meter
> liter gram" in the middle.
> kilo, hecto, deka, (meter liter gram), deci, centi, milli. There,
that
> REALLY is all there is to it. Kilo is 1000, milli is 1/1000 and you
> already know CENTS as centi 1/100. To go up and down that "ladder"
you
> learned, just move the decimal poiint over one place for each step.
If
> you get confused, go from 100 cents - up two- to 1 dollar (or meter
or
> liter or gram).
> Teach your parents today, hopefully your kids already know it. And
then
> pop open a "two liter" bottle of root beer to celebrate....JimG
Shame on us as a country for not going metric harder sooner.... but as a
6th grade teacher I try to do my part. Here is a VERY short, easy to
remember way to jump in. (for reference, a closed fist is 10 cm, 2.54
centimeters is an inch.)
Step one. Get over it - the metric system is so much better, and most
can't use our system despite what they think. (OK, how many teaspoons in
a pint? How many yards in a mile? How many grains in a pound? Get my
drift?)
Step two. There are three "areas" of measurement, but they all use the
same "prefixes" based on TEN, just like money. (You CAN compute how many
pennies in a ten dollar bill, right?) Meter (length, area) Liter
(liquid) and Gram (weight) are the units.
Step three. Just memorized the list of prefixes in order with "meter
liter gram" in the middle.
kilo, hecto, deka, (meter liter gram), deci, centi, milli. There, that
REALLY is all there is to it. Kilo is 1000, milli is 1/1000 and you
already know CENTS as centi 1/100. To go up and down that "ladder" you
learned, just move the decimal poiint over one place for each step. If
you get confused, go from 100 cents - up two- to 1 dollar (or meter or
liter or gram).
Teach your parents today, hopefully your kids already know it. And then
pop open a "two liter" bottle of root beer to celebrate....JimG
6th grade teacher I try to do my part. Here is a VERY short, easy to
remember way to jump in. (for reference, a closed fist is 10 cm, 2.54
centimeters is an inch.)
Step one. Get over it - the metric system is so much better, and most
can't use our system despite what they think. (OK, how many teaspoons in
a pint? How many yards in a mile? How many grains in a pound? Get my
drift?)
Step two. There are three "areas" of measurement, but they all use the
same "prefixes" based on TEN, just like money. (You CAN compute how many
pennies in a ten dollar bill, right?) Meter (length, area) Liter
(liquid) and Gram (weight) are the units.
Step three. Just memorized the list of prefixes in order with "meter
liter gram" in the middle.
kilo, hecto, deka, (meter liter gram), deci, centi, milli. There, that
REALLY is all there is to it. Kilo is 1000, milli is 1/1000 and you
already know CENTS as centi 1/100. To go up and down that "ladder" you
learned, just move the decimal poiint over one place for each step. If
you get confused, go from 100 cents - up two- to 1 dollar (or meter or
liter or gram).
Teach your parents today, hopefully your kids already know it. And then
pop open a "two liter" bottle of root beer to celebrate....JimG