Hey Europeans!! A Metric Question

[martha]

Do you guys even use decimeters for anything???

 

[Lilly]

i'd like to say no.

but this thread wasn't addressed to me in any way


so really - no response, but after i read it i was curious and didn't want it to sink.

 

[The_Sweetest_Thing]

Hey! It's not JUST Europeans...your 'neighbours to the north' also use the metric system.

And after 20 years of using metric, I have never once used decimetres for ANYTHING, not even scientific calculations. Everything is measured in either mm (if really tiny), cm, or m. Occasionally, in science we use um (micrometres), but that's another story.

So, to answer the question, no.

And a question for YOU! Don't you guys find it difficult to convert stuff...like 12 inches per foot, etc. In metirc, everything is in 10s or 100s. It's so much easier.

And when you're in school, did you guys have to learn how to convert between metric and imperial? I know we did a bit...And all the science kids: did you guys have to learn both systems of nomenclature for chemicals (ie: ferrous, and Iron II)...

Does Australia use metric?

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

What the hell are decimetres?

Nah, never used them.

 

[martha]

EXACTLY!!! Which is why I decided today that my little American kids were not getting any kind of test on how to deal with decimeters! Good gravy!
Like you said, Sweetest, converting inches, feet and yards is hard enough for my kids. I know that converting metric stuff is easier, but they'd have to adjust their thinking for that. And I'd rather they focus on the system they'll use in their own country. When they need metrics, they'll learn what they need to know in practice.

 

[martha]

but this thread wasn't addressed to me in any way

South Dakota is pretty close to Canada, and at times you guys almost sound Canadian, so that's good enough for me!

 

[Mrs.Clayton]

I wish we had metrics here, they are so much easier for me to work with.
We're getting there, our soda is sold in liters

 

[Giant Lemon]

My 2 cents:

I think the US should convert to the metric system. It makes so much more sense, and it'd spare us all the pain of trying to figure out how to convert between the two!

 

[christiana]

Hm.. I'm not an European, but I'd say yes... We use decimeters in some of the volumatic calculations in Chemistry.

 

[brettig]

Does Australia use metric?

Yep. Yet another reason we're similar - that Canadian Journalism lecturer called us a parallel universe today.

 

[U2girl]

Yes, we have milimeters, centimeters, decimeters, meters, kilometers here. Most commonly used are metres and centimetres for measuring things, and kilometers for measuring distances.

Can't say I ever used decimetres in real life, except in math in primary school when we learn how to convert.

I am puzzled by your metrics sometimes - I do know that you have to divide feet by 3 to get approximate metres and that you divide pounds by 2 to get kilos, but that's it.

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

It's all math to me.

Math=

 

[Angela Harlem]

So Americans use imperial for distance/length and metric for volume?

How confusing!

 

[FizzingWhizzbees]

I've never used decimeters in "real life" only in questions in math or chemistry or physics.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

So Americans use imperial for distance/length and metric for volume?

not all the time. we do buy liters of soda, but we get gallons of milk. it's so confusing!

however, most everything comes with both weights or whatever listed. it'll say like "2 liters/12.15156156456156564564544654654654654654 ounces" or whatever.

i don't even really remember most of the imperial stuff. how many cups are in a quart, all that stuff. the liquid part is so confusing because it's based off of 4 i think, and just...ugh! but of course the inches-foot-yard thing is all right.

okay, enough from me.

 

[anitram]

I have never used decimetres, but I have used decilitres and decagrams. The latter two are fairly common in measurements of liquids and food.

It's more a matter of knowing what they are than really ever using them. It doesn't hurt to be aware of what the measurement is, I guess.

 

[Klaus]

The metric system is pretty easy and logic, it's the same system for length, weight, time and lots of more..

That's the system.

You name what you are measuring:

Lenght:
Meter [m]
Weitght:
Killogramm [kg]
Time:
Second:

...and more (Amp?re A, Kelvin K, Mol, Candela,cd)

then you have a prefix that you don't have to write too many Zeros:
10^24 E 24 yotta Y
10^21 E 21 zetta Z
10^18 E 18 exa E
10^15 E 15 peta P
10^12 E 12 tera T
10^9 E 9 giga G
10^6 E 6 mega M
10^3 E 3 kilo k
10^2 E 2 hecto h
10^1 E 1 deca da
10^-1 E -1 deci d
10^-2 E -2 centi c
10^-3 E -3 milli m
10^-6 E -6 micro ?
10^-9 E -9 nano n
10^-12 E-12 pico p
10^-15 E-15 femto f
10^-18 E-18 atto a
10^-21 E-21 zepto z
10^-24 E-24 yocto y

While the 10*^expontent says how many Zeros have to be added to write down the number in the classic style:

10^3= 1.000 (see three zeros)
and 10^-3=0,001 (the minus indicates that it's smaller than 1)

Almost too easy to be true

By the way, this system is also called SI: System International

Klaus

 

[martha]

 

[Flaming Friar Sr]

if u're a guy, they are quite handy to boast with

eh, yeah its two decimeters