Metric and Imperial
Metric and Imperial
Although we have been using the metric system for ages a lot of people in Britain (but very few on the continent) still work in Imperial units. For instance, there's a good chance that you know your weight in stones and your height in feet and not kilograms and metres!
Due to this you still need to know both systems and be able to convert(approximately) between them.
Here are some basic facts that you should know:
| Length |
| 1cm = 10mm |
| 1m = 100cm |
| 1km = 1000m |
| Mass: |
| 1kg = 1000g |
| 1 tonne = 1000kg |
| Volume: |
| 1 litre = 1000ml = 1000cm3 |
| Note to remember: |
| 1m = 100cm |
| 1m2 = 10 000cm2 |
| 1m3 = 1 000 000cm3 |
Here are some more facts that you should know:
| Length: |
| 1 foot = 12 inches |
| 1 yard = 3 feet |
| 1 mile = 1760 yards |
| Length: |
| 1 pound = 16 ounces |
| 1 stone = 14 pounds |
| 1 ton = 160 stones (or 2240 pounds) |
Note: the different spellings of tonne (metric) and ton (imperial).
| Volume: |
| 1 gallon = 8 pints |
You need to know the approximate conversions between some of the metric and imperial units. Here are the main ones:
Miles to km - Multiply by 1.6
km to Miles - Multiply by 0.62
kg to Pounds - Multiply by 2.2
Pounds to kg - Multiply by 0.45
Litres to Gallons - Multiply by 0.22
Gallons to Litres - Multiply by 4.55
Inch to cm - Multiply by 2.54
cm to Inch - Multiply by 0.39