Metric measurement

The metric measurement is a system of measuring using the liter, the gram, and the meter as basic units.


The gram is used to measure mass or weight.

For instance, a person weighing 170 pounds in customary measurement, weighs 77110 grams or 77.11 kilograms in the metric system.

the liter is used to measure capacity.

For instance, 1 liter of coke measures about 33.81 ounces in customary measurement.

The meter is used to measure length.

For instance, a person whose height is 1 meter is equivalent 3.2808 feet or about 39.5 inches in customary measurement.

In the metric system, other units are named by using prefixes such as kilo, hecto, deka, deci, centi, and milli etc...

1 kilo = one thousand and the symbol we use is k

For example, 1 kilometer = 1000 meters

1 hecto = one hundred and the symbol we use is h

1 hectogram = 100 grams

1 deka = ten and the symbol we use is da

1 dekameter = 10 meters

1 deci = one-tenth and the unit is d

1 deciliter = 0.1 liter

1 centi = one-hundredth and the unit is c

1 centimeter = 0.01 meter

1 milli = one-thousandth and the unit is m

1 millimeter = 0.001 meter

In the United States, both the metric system and the customary measurement are used.

However, people are more familiar with the customary measurement in the USA.

Test your knowledge of metric measurement with the quiz below: