I'm an American cursed by our silly english system
and i was wondering how does one learn the metric system and temp

Easy. you just start using it. Nearly everything has metric printed on it, from food containers, thermometers, even car speedometers.

I don't use it because I wont be doing anything in my life that would require knowing it.

One meter = 3.28 feet
One inch = 2.54 centimeters

Look up any other conversions you need. Google will do conversions.

From there it's just counting in tens, or thousands when you get to really big or small things.
Nano = 0.000000001
Micro = 0.000001
Milli = 0.001
Centi = 0.01
Deci = 0.1
Nothing = 1
Deca = 10
Hecto = 100
Kilo = 1000
Mega = 1000000
Giga = 1000000000
Tera = 1000000000000

So a kilometer is 1000 meters, a centimeter is 0.01 meters, etc.

i want to visit canada soonish lol
thanks

http://legacy.ezclasssites.com/data/mrskirkland/Metric_System.jpg

Reread the post, I typoed the inches conversion.

Counting in scientific notation makes it easier. Don't have to keep track of all the zeroes.

Then get a conversion app for your phone. If you can.

The conversions really aren't that hard to understand. A kilometer is less then a mile, and 30 degrees celsius is rather hot. Knowing that, getting a general idea of how fast, far, or hot something is, is easy.

0°C - Freezing
100°C - Boiling

This is basically what I do. Don't need exact numbers.

If you want something more accurate but easier than exact values, just round a lot. 0 C is about 30 F, 10 C is about 50 F (actually exactly), 20 C is about 70 F, etc. It gives you a good idea of what it feels like, and it's not until you get up to temperatures unrealistically hot or cold for weather that the rounding becomes much of an issue.

Umm... 0C is "about" 30F? How about it is exactly 32F. The freezing point of water.

Metric involves factors and multiples of ten, so it's not too hard.

Did you miss the part where I said round to make it easier to remember?

Imperial system isnt hard either if you grew up with it.

1 Inch is and always will be the same length. 12 of them make a foot. 3 Feet make a yard. 5280 feet make a mile. Those are the only conversions you really ever need to know.

A metre is almost equal to a yard (1 metre is approx. 1.1 yards). I'm not sure if you use yards or just inches and feet, but hopefully that helps.

A kilometre is 1000 metres. A mile is about 1.6 kilometres (a very good approximation, or you can round it down to 1.5 for easier but less precise in-your-head conversion), and a kilometre is about 0.6 miles (a bit less precise approximation).

Hence, km/h = mph*1.6, and mph = km/h*0.6. E.g., 100 km/h is about 60 mph, 80 mph is about 128 km/h, 40 km/h is about 24 mph, etc.

You already got centimetre to inch conversion. I will just add that 1 foot is approximately 30 cm.


Water freezes at 0°C, boils at 100°C. Average human body temperature is about 37°C. Hence, temps above 30°C = pretty darn hot. 20°C - 25°C = pleasant room temperature. 0°C - 10°C = wear a jacket. Below 0°C = freezing, in the actual literal sense of the word.


Weight is the trickiest. 1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds. A very "ugly" number to do mental conversions with.

1 cc water = 1 milliliter water = 1 gram water (at room temperature)

It's why metric rocks.

1 dm³ of water = 1 litre of water = 1 kilogram of water (at room temperature)

Now what?


The only thing I don't like about metric system is that kilogram is the base unit for weight, not gram. It rubs my OCD the wrong way.

Also day-hour-minute-second = 1-24-60-60. I mean, it works, but metric system is supposed to be in base 10, dammit!!!

That's odd, I didn't know that kilogram was a unit of weight, much less the base unit of weight, how's that even possible?

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1401790-keeping-track-of-time-in-space/page__view__findpost__p__21346337

study science.

How come the metric system has a more detailed distance and volume measurement, but a less detailed temperature measurement than the American system?