Metric System and American Standard System

The Metric system and the American standard measurement system are very different. One way that they differ is that the metric system is all bases of ten, and the American Standard system does not have a specific base.

            When it comes to length, for small distances, such as the length of a nail, in the American Standard system, we use inches. In the metric system, the centimeter is used for small distances. These can give very different ideas of how long something is, because an inch is about 2 ½ centimeters. For longer distances, such as the length and width of a building, in the American Standard System, we use feet. The metric system uses meters for longer distances. This causes measurements to seem very different, because a meter is about 3 feet. In the really long distances, such as how far two cities are from each other, the American Standard system uses miles and the metric system uses kilometers. A mile is approximately 1 ½ kilometers.

            For mass and weight, three commonly uses units in the American Standard system are the ounce, the pound and the ton. In the metric system, three commonly used units are the milligram, the gram, and the kilogram. The most similar of these units are the gram and the ounce which are often used for weighing small objects. Tons and kilograms are often used to measure large objects, such as cars. Milligrams are used to measure the weight of very small objects. Pounds are used to measure the weight of larger objects, such as humans.

             In volume, there is volume of solid matter and also the volume of liquids. For the volume of solids in the metric system, there are cubic centimeters, cubic meters, and cubic kilometers, with cubic centimeters representing the smallest volume, and cubic kilometers representing the largest volume. For liquid volume there are milliliters, liters, and kiloliters, with milliliters representing the smallest liquid volumes and kiloliters representing largest liquid volumes.  In the American Standard system, for solid volume,  there are cubic inches, cubic feet, and cubic yard. For liquid volume there are fluid ounces, quarts, and gallons. In solid volume, cubic inches and cubic millimeters are the most similar and are often used for measuring very small amounts of solid. In liquid volume, liters and quarts are the most similar and can often be seen on soft drink bottles.  Ounces are used for measuring small amounts of liquid volume, such as when you are cooking, and gallons are used for larger amounts of liquids, for example when you buy a container of milk, it is usually a gallon.

            The temperature scales in the American Standard system and the metric system are very different. The American Standard system uses degrees Fahrenheit, and the metric system uses degrees Celsius. The base, or freezing point for degrees Fahrenheit is 32, while the freezing point of degrees Celsius is 0. Another difference in the two scales is that in Fahrenheit, a normal human body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas the normal body temperature of a human in Celsius is 37 degrees Celsius. Finally, the third, commonly known difference in the two scales is that in Fahrenheit, the boiling point of water is 212 degrees Fahrenheit, but in Celsius, it is 100 degrees Celsius.