How to Convert Units to the Metric System

People throughout most of the world use metric units when they measure things. Notable exceptions where people do not are in Britain and the United States. In Britain, the Imperial System is used; it contains units like feet, miles, gallons, ounces, pounds and inches. People in the United States tend to use the American system, which is very similar to the Imperial System. British and American scientists, however, use the metric system for the sake of easy communication with the rest of the world. As you begin to learn science and the metric system, it is very useful to know how to convert your measurements to metric units.

Instructions

1

Learn the basic units of the metric system and the American units they most closely correspond to. Here are several examples:

Measurement: Length--American Unit: Foot; mile, Metric Unit: Meter; kilometer

Measurement: Liquid volume--American Unit: gallon, Metric Unit: liter

Measurement: Solid volume--American Unit: cubic foot, Metric Unit: cubic meter

Measurement: Mass--American Unit: pound, Metric Unit: kilogram

Measurement: Force and weight--American Unit: pound, Metric Unit: Newton

Measurement: Energy--American Unit: calorie, Metric Unit: Joule

2

Learn the factors used to convert each American unit to its metric counterpart. Here are several examples:

Measurement Conversion factors:

Length: 0.3048 meters per foot
Length: 1.609 kilometers per mile
Liquid Volume: 3.785 liters per gallon
Solid Volume: 0.0283 cubic meters per cubic foot
Mass: 0.454 kilogram per pound
Force and weight: 4.448 Newtons per pound
Energy: 4.187 Joules per calorie

3

Convert a measurement to metric units by multiplying the American units by the conversion factor. For example, if you wanted to convert a measurement of 200 feet to meters, the calculation would look like this:

Conversion of 200 feet to meters = 200 feet x 0.3048 meters per foot = 60.96 meters.