# How does the metric system work?

Mar 16, 2018

An easily understood decimal system and relationships between the quantities

#### Explanation:

The metric system uses base 10 and powers of ten to divide units of different sizes. This decimal system makes conversion between larger units to smaller units. See the chart below.

k(m) = 1000$\left({10}^{3}\right)$
...........hk (m) = 100 $\left({10}^{2}\right)$
......................dk(m)= 10 $\left({10}^{1}\right)$
.................................(m) = 1 $\left({10}^{0}\right)$ { units g, ml ....}
..........................................dm = 0.1 ( ${10}^{-} 1$)
.................................................cm = 0.01 (${10}^{-} 2$)
.........................................................mm = 0.001 (${10}^{-} 3$)

To convert between units move the decimal the correct number of steps in the digram. Move the decimal to the right going down the ladder from a large unit to a small unit. Move the decimal to the left going up the ladder from a small unit to a large unit. The base 10 system makes conversion between units easy.

To convert from units of distance to units of volume is logical.
$c m \times c m \times c m = c {m}^{3}$ a unit of volume
$1 c {m}^{3} = 1 m l$

To convert form units of volume to units of mass is also logical

$1 m l \left({H}_{2} O\right) = 1 g$ at Standard Temperature and Pressure.

All types of units ( m, g , l, ohms ...) use the same unit prefixes.

The relationships between different size units and types of units are easy to understand and work with. The units are all based on the decimal system and the prefixes are the same for all types of units. There is a logical relationship between the different types of units.