How to Convert Metric to American Standard

The metric system is the international standard for units of measurement. There is a base unit for every item of measurement, such as length, volume or mass. All units are multiples or fractions of 10, so it's easy to convert from one unit to another. For instance, the gram is the base unit of mass. Therefor, a milligram is 1/1000 of a gram and a kilogram is equal to 1,000 grams. On the other hand, the American standard of measurement is more complicated. If you need to convert metric units to American units, you'll need a calculator, as the conversions are not easy calculations. There are many units of measurements you could convert, but to get started, convert length, volume and mass units.

Instructions

Convert Length

1

Determine the unit of measurement you need to convert. For instance, begin with kilometers, the unit regularly used to measure long distances.

2

Determine the unit of measurement you want to convert to in the American standard. Kilometers are regularly converted to miles, so start there.

3

Enter the number of kilometers in your calculator.

4

Press the multiplication sign. Enter the conversion factor, which is 0.62137. This means 1 kilometer equal 0.62137 miles. To convert any value, you need to multiply by the conversion factor to get the result.

5

Press the equals sign. For example, if you convert 50 kilometers to miles, the answer is 31.0685, which you can round to 31 miles.

Convert Volume

6

Start with a value in liters---for example, 10 liters. The liter is the base unit for metric volume.

7

Convert this value to liquid pints, for example, by multiplying 10 liters by 2.1133 on your calculator.

8

Press the equals sign on your calculator. In this example, 10 liters equal 21.133 liquid pints.

Convert Mass

9

Enter a value of mass on your calculator. For instance, you could convert kilograms to pounds, a common conversion for measuring a person's weight.

10

Press the multiplication sign. Enter 2.20462, the conversion factor for kilograms to pounds.

11

Press the equals sign to get your result. For example, 100 kilograms equal 220.462 pounds.