Parker, Try teaching metric units of measurement the way school children in most other countries learn the SI.
That is, with *absolutely no mention* of any US units of measurement outside the SI! I like your emphasis on the *decimal structure* of metric multiples of units, just as dollars and cents are related. Eugene Mechtly ________________________________ From: [email protected] [[email protected]] on behalf of Parker Willey Jr. [[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2014 11:34 AM To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:53614] Familiarizing those who are only familiar with legacy units, with metric units Hi: <UrlBlockedError.aspx><UrlBlockedError.aspx> <UrlBlockedError.aspx>If someone were to give a talk or speech to people who were raised on legacy units only or legacy units with little or no metric teaching, this is my proposed familiarization to one or a group of such persons. <UrlBlockedError.aspx><UrlBlockedError.aspx> <UrlBlockedError.aspx>Comments or suggestions anyone? <UrlBlockedError.aspx>You can use this or something like this to familiarize people with the SI metric system. <UrlBlockedError.aspx><UrlBlockedError.aspx> ...Parker file: Teach_Metric.txt Rev. 2014-02-28 This should help someone in the United States become familiar with the simple decimal system of weights and measures commonly known as the metric system. = = = = = = = = = FIRST = WHY METRIC? = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = When our country was founded, we had pounds, shillings and pennies. 12 pennies = 1 shilling 20 shillings = 1 pound. It was clumsy and complicated. You divide by 12 and 20, carry, to add numbers. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington came up with the idea of decimal money and convinced the congress to go with decimal money. 1 dollar = 100 cents. Now we still use what I call legacy weights and measures. 12 inches = 1 foot. 3 feet = 1 yard. 2 yards = 1 fathom. 880 fathoms = 1 mile 63360 inches = 1 mile. The French took our idea of decimal money and developed the decimal metric system of weights and measures. 100 centimeters = 1 meter. It is just like 100 dents = 1 dollar. = = = = = = = LEARN THE SIMPLE METRIC SYSTEM FROM SCRATCH = = = = = = = = = = Forget inches, feet, miles, quarts, gallons, fluid ounces, etc. Think of a dime. It is about 1 millimeter thick. 10 millimeters = 1 centimeter. (There are about 2.5 centimeters to 1 inch. 2.54 exactly.) 100 centimeters = 1 meter. Now hold out your hands out about 39 inches. That is one meter. It is about 10 % longer than 1 yard. (39.3705 inches (meter) vs 36 inches (yard)) Now you know how much 1 meter is. By the way, floor space is measured in square meters. Now think of 10 centimeters which is 0.1 meter. (It is about 4 inches). Think of a cube 10 centimeters wide, high and thick. You have a volume of 1 liter. One liter of plain water weighs 1 kilogram. If you think of this 1 cubical liter stacked 10 liters wide, high and thick, you have a cube 1 meter wide, high and thick. It is 1 cubic meter. Now, 10 * 10 * 10 = 1000. Therefore, 1 cubic meter is 1000 liters. 1 cubic meter of water weighs 1 metric ton. See, 1 metric ton = 1000 kilograms. Now, Think of that cubic centimeter. There are 1000 cubic centimeters in 1 liter. 1 cubic centimeter of water is called 1 milliliter and weighs 1 gram. See 1000 grams = 1 kilogram For length, 1000 meters = 1 kilometer. Remember: 1 kilo something is 1000 somethings. Kilometers are used to measure distance between towns and cities. Now review the above material to become more familiar with the simplicity of the metric system. Next: AREA Think of a football field. There are 100 yards from end to end. Now, think of the length of this same field but include one end zone. This is approximately 100 meters. Now think of a square area, 100 meters on a side. This is called one hectare. Hectares are used to measure land area. One square hectare is approximately 1 football field wide (plus one end zone) and 1 football field deep. One hectare is 100 meters wide and 100 meters deep. On hectare is 100 * 100 = 10000 square meters. If you stack an area of 10 hectares wide and 10 hectares deep, you have a total land area of 100 square hectare which is 1 square kilometer. Now go back over this to become more familiar with land area in the metric system. Tank you for your attention.
