The metric system and standard, or English, system are two sets of standards that are used for quantifying weights and measures. Though newer, the metric system has become the international standard.
History
The standard system was developed over time, with some measurements dating back as far as the Roman, Egyptian and Babylonian empires, according to NASA. The metric system was first suggested by Gabriel Muton of France around 1670.
Units
Each metric unit uses the same prefixes to denote larger or smaller quantities. For example, a decisecond is 1/10 of a second and a decimeter is 1/10 of a meter. The standard system uses different units, such as inches, feet and yards rather than prefixes.
Unit Conversions
Each metric prefix represents a conversion of a factor of 10 (1/10 of or 10 times the previous unit), which makes it simple to convert the units. For example, to convert from kilograms to grams, multiply by 1,000, because "kilo-" represents 1,000. For standard units, there is no fixed conversion.
Useage
Almost all major countries use the metric system as of 2009. The United States is the only major country still using the standard system.
Significance
The metric system has been adopted by the International System of Units as the standard for measurements between countries and for use in scientific experiments.
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