The metric system is an international system of measurement that is currently in use in the vast majority of the world. The main exceptions to this are the United States, Libya and Burma. France first used the metric system in 1791, and it is now the primary standardized measurement system.
Length
In the metric system, the meter is the main measurement used to measure length. The meter can be divided in many different ways by adding the appropriate prefixes. A millimeter is 0.001 meters, a centimeter is 0.01 meters, a decimeter is 0.1 meters and a kilometer is 1000 meters. One meter is 3.28 feet or 1.09 yards.
Volume
The main unit of volume in the metric system is the liter. One liter is composed of 1000 milliliters. A milliliter is therefore 0.001 liters,and is also one cubic centimeter. Like meters, liters can be divided up in many ways by adding the corresponding prefixes. This is less common in ordinary language though, and is typically reserved for scientific measurements. A centiliter is 0.01 liters, a deciliter is 0.1 liters and a kiloliter is 1000 liters.
Mass
The international metric standard unit of mass is the gram. Because the gram is such a small unit of measurement (0.035 ounces), the kilogram is the more common unit in colloquial speech. A kilogram weighs 1000 grams and is the equivalent to approximately 2.21 pounds. A gram is approximately the weight of a paperclip.
Temperature
In the metric system, temperature technically is now measured in degrees Kelvin. This measurement is virtually only used by scientists, and Celsius remains the dominant method of measurement. The boiling point of water is 100 degrees Celsius at sea level, and the freezing point of water is 0 degrees Celsius at sea level. The formulas for converting Celsius to Fahrenheit are as follows: C = (F - 32) 1.8 and
F = (C x 1.8) + 32. One degree Kelvin is equal to -457.87 degrees Fahrenheit and -272.15 degrees Celsius.
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