What is the metric system?

Answer 1

The "metric system" (SI units) is a system of measurement in a decimal form (each successive unit of measure is 10 times larger or smaller than the preceding unit). Its name is from the Greek (métron, to measure).

The original "metric system" developed in France in the 1790's and was refined into the "International System" (Le Système International d'Unités) in 1960.

Basic units of measurement are the meter (metre, for length), kilogram (1000 grams, for mass or weight), and second (for time). Associated with it is the Kelvin scale (degrees unit same as Celsius) for temperature. Other SI units are the ampere (for electrical current), the candela (for luminosity), and the mole (physical amount). Volume is measured in the original liters (litres), equivalent to a cubic decimeter, which equals 1000 cubic centimeters (cc).

Prefixes for decimal divisions in the SI system :

Multiples (symbol, prefix, multiple)

da deca- 10

h hecto- 100

k kilo- 1000

M mega- 1,000,000 (million)

G giga- 1,000,000,000 (billion, 109)

T tera- (trillion, 1012)

P peta- (quadrillion, 1015)

E exa- (quintillion, 1018)

Z zetta- (sextillion, 1021)

Y yotta- (septillion, 1024)

Subdivisions (symbol, prefix, division)

d deci- one tenth

c centi- one hundredth

m milli- one thousandth

µ micro- one millionth

n nano- one billionth (10-9)

p pico- one trillionth (10-12)

f femto- one quadrillonth (10-15)

a atto- one quintillionth (10-18)

z zepto- one sextillionth (10-21)

y yocto- one septillionth (10-24)