America is one of the only countries in the world that that does not teach young students how to use metric measurements, with exceptions in select science classes. Maybe, however, this is a good thing. Think about it. What would we call our inchworm? Centimeter worm seems awkward, to say the least. And, how would it sound to point a critical finger at someone who was given an inch but who then thoughtlessly took a kilometer? That would be strange indeed.
Because the metric system is the internationally accepted measuring system, it does make sense that we have at least some working knowledge about it. Do you ever wonder what the metric units of measure that are often used to describe the size of various medical findings, i.e., "the tumor was 1 cm" would be if converted into what most Americans understand?
The following conversions should take some of the mystery out of the metric unit of measure:
metric equivalents
1 centimeter = 0.3937 inch
- 1 inch = 2.54 cm
1 foot = 0.3048 meter
- 1 meter = 39.37 inches or 1.0936 yards
- 1 yard = 0.9144 meter
1 rod = 5.029 meters
1 kilometer = 0.621 mile
- 1 mile = 1.609 kilometers
weights
1 gram = 0.03527 ounce
- 1 ounce = 28.35 grams
1 kilogram = 2.2046 pounds
- 1 pound = 0.4536 kilograms
measure of volume
1 liter = 1.0567 quarts liquid
- 1 quart liquid = 0.9463 liter
- 1 quart dry = 1.101 liters
- 1 gallon = 3.78541 liters
temperature conversion
To convert Fahrenheit degrees into Celsius, subtract 32, multiply by 5 then divide by 9.
To convert Celsius into Fahrenheit degrees, multiply by 9, divide by 5 then add 32.
Though a conversion table of metrics to "American speak" is not ordinarily necessary for our daily activities, the information may be useful when you travel beyond US borders where gasoline is sold by the liter and the distance to the next town is described in kilometers.
There you have it. Now just for fun, accept the challenge of converting all the metric measurements you encounter.
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