etric: The Choice is Yours

For each of the following 10 questions,
choose the answer you think is correct and
put a check in the space provided.

1. A gram weighs about the
same as:
(a) ___ an apple
(b) ___ a dime
(c) ___a pineapple
2. A meter is about the

height of:

(a) ___a door

(b) ___ a kitchen.
counter

(c) ___ the seat of a
chair

3. Water freezes and boils
at:
(a) ___ 32°C and 212°C
(b) —__ 100°C and 200°C
(c) ___ 0° Gand 100°C

4. A coffeecup holds about:

(a)___ 2 milliliters (mL)

(b) ___ 20 mL
(c) ___ 250 mL

. A newborn baby weighs
about:
(a) __5 kilograms (kg)
(b) 30 kg
(c) ___ 300 kg

. The height of a tall man
is about:
(a) —— 20 centimeters

(em)
(b) ___ 200 cm
(c) ___ 2000 em

7. Normal body
temperature is:
(a) ___ 85°C (degrees

Celsius)
(b) __ 87°C.
(c) __ 46°C

8. A liter of milk is:
(a) —— larger than a

quart
(b) ___ smaller than a
quart

q
(c) ___ the same size as
a quart
9. A liter of water weighs
(a) _— 1000 grams (g)
(b) __10¢8
(c)___ 100g
. The thickness of a dime
is about
(a) ___ 0.1 millimeters

(mm)
(b) __1 mm
(c)__ 5mm

aaovo0egnnaga
So

daiwvoorada

|

18


More Activities :

‘7. Temperature

Use this poem to interpolate what you
think certain temperatures are in
degrees Celsius.

Thirty is hot
Twenty is nice
Ten is cool
Zero is ice.

8. Temperature

What would you guess each of these
temperatures to be?

Weather for down parkas and gloves

Normal body temperature
Water boils
Water freezes
Some Metric Units
You'll Need to Know
Metric
Unit Symbol Measures
meter m linear dimension,
length, distance,
thickness, etc.
gram g weight (technically,
mass)
liter L_ volume
degrees
Celsius °C temperature

9. Temperature

Use a thermometer to check the
temperature of a glass of water at room
temperature. Place some ice in the
water and check the temperature every
0 seconds. Record the changes.

Then take the thermometer and hold it
in your hand for at least a minute. Does
it register normal body temperature?

10. Weight or Mass

You know that a kilogram has a mass
of 10% more than 2 pounds. Without
using paper and pencil, estimate how
much you weigh in kilograms and
then check your accuracy on a scale.

11. Weight or Mass

Hold a kilogram to see how it feels.
Then pick up some of the following
objects and estimate what they weigh.

Your shoes
A large book
Achair

12

tle

ee





from the Greek word “metron,”
meaning measurement. With this
dramatic change, measurement was no
longer based on anatomical or
arbitrary elements. The meter, which
is the base of the system, was actually
defined as one ten-millionth of the
distance from the North Pole to the
Equator along the meridian which
passes through Paris.

Today, the system has been.
even more precisly refined, and

of electromagnetic
wavelengths.

a

—
oT -



Metric Crossword Puzzle

Test your metric knowledge with this crossword
puzzle. Try ten clues across and ten clues down.

Down

1. The word used to
describe the inch
pound system.

2. The nation where
the metric system
was developed.

4. A small unit that
measures mass (or
weight).

8. One-thousandth of
a liter.

10. degree ___.

11. The symbol for
1/1000 of a gram.

12. The base unit of
length.

14, The prefix meaning
10.

16. The prefix meaning
one million.

18. One thousand

kilograms =

1 metric —_.

Across: | 9. The prefix for

3. The legislation, for one-tenth.
Board serv ied a 11. One-+thousanath of
conversion. a gram.

6. Thenationin which 25+ Aunit of
the inch pound volume.
system was 18. One thousand
developed. meters.

7. The symbol for 17. The prefix for one-
milliliter. hundreth.

8. The symbol for 19. The symbol for

centimeter. Kilogram.



For additional information and publications,
contact any of the following organizations:

American National Metric Council
5410 Grosvenor Lane
Bethesda, Maryland 20814

Metric Education Program

United States Department of Education
400 6th Street, Southwest
Washington, D.C. 20202

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
1906 Association Drive

Reston, Virginia

22091

United States Metric Association
Sugarloaf Star Route

Boulder, Colorado

80302

USMB Publications

USMB—an introduction

Metrics in the Kitchen

All About Metric

US. Metric Board Annual Reports

Metric Speakers Directory;

Antitrust: A Handbook for Metric Planning and
Conversion.

Conversion Factors

All You Will Need to Know About Metric

‘There has been some confusion about the role of the US.
Metric Board and the national policy on metric conversion.
Congress established the Board to plan and coordinate
voluntary metric conversion activity in this country. It is
not, however, the role of the Board to promote metric
usage.

‘Metric conversion in this country is voluntary. When
Congress passed the Metric Conversion Act in 1975 it did
not make conversion mandatory; nor did it establish a
target date or deadline for conversion. The Board has no
compulsory power. It is a public service agency
responsible for conducting public information and
education programs and appropriate research,
coordination and planning activities.

Please contact us if you have any questions about the
role of the Board or the national policy on metric
conversion.

21



Metric Expressions

Test your knowledge of metric
terms. Replace the customary
measures in the ten familiar
expressions below with the
appropriate metric measures
and see what they would
sound like in metric.
Remember, the metric terms
will not equal the customary
terms.

1. The Texan pulled:a rabbit out ofa ten
(gallon) hat.

2. There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked.
(mile).

3. A_________ (pound) of flesh.

4. Give hima —________ (inch), and he will take a

___ (mile).

8. I wouldn’t touch a skunk with a ten
(foot) pole.

6. I won't budge a (inch). *

7. One hundred_____ (yard) dash.

8. Tdwalka (mile) for a Camel.

9. A______ (ounce) of prevention is worth a

(pound) of cure.
—_________ (mile) -stone in my life.

doyeurtyUe0
dayeur “g
AaSMIOTTY ‘TonoUTTIUGS
uredsorry *S
INOUOTY
Jom “T
iszemsuy



Basic Teaching Materials

All of these materials are easily
available from local hardware, grocery
and stationery shops. In addition,
many of them can be borrowed from
local schools, libraries and
universities. The complete set of
materials will cost less than $25.00.

Rulers and conversion cards are
available free of charge from the
United States Metric Board.

¢ meter sticks or measuring tapes

* bathroom scale: in kilograms

© metric rulers

© everyday metric items: soft drinks,
pharmaceuticals, etc.

© copies of the activities you are going
to use (see last section)

© paper clips

® pencils or pens

¢ height measuring chart (this can be
constructed from & or 3 tapes or
meter sticks)

® one kilogram weight

© a number of plastic cubic centimeter
blocks, each with a mass or weight
of one gram

RRR

* bucket of water

° graduated vessels to hold water

° ungraduated vessels to hold water

¢ metric measuring spoons and/or
cups

The length of the program will
depend on the needs and interests of
the participants. Most people find that,
the basics of the metric system can be
learned in a hands-on environment
within several hours.

If you include films (many of which
are available from your local or state
library), your program will take
longer.

Some people find that the
best way to hold metric usage
seminars for adults is during
two separate classes of about
one and one-half to two hours
each.



Metric usage in America is no longer
merely inching along. It is steadily
increasing. American companies have
discovered that many of the goods they
sell overseas have to be labeled in
metric measure. Consequently, instead
of producing products in different sizes
for domestic and international trade,
goods are being manufactured and
labeled in metric. This includes
pharmaceuticals, film, soft drinks,
liquor, wine, automobiles, and
machinery, to mention only a few.

The SI metric system is today almost
universally accepted worldwide as the
system of measurement. Other than
the United States, there are only two
other nations on this planet which are
not officially metric. They are Brunei
and South Yemen.

Many educators believe that the
metric system is easier to use, learn
and teach than the customary system.
There are seven base units and all of
them are expressed in powers of ten.
Like our monetary system, the metric
system is decimal.

In American schools and
universities, in private industry, and in
many aspects of our daily lives, metric
usage is increasing steadily, but the use
of the metric system in America is
voluntary. When Congress passed the
1975 Metric Conversion Act, no date
was established for conversion.

The Congress was quite specific in
determining that there should be no
timetable by which all things must be
metric. Rather, it is up to individual
groups and sectors of the
economy and society to
determine when and if it is
in their interest to use the
metric system.

456

8910



Metric U: in the United States

Most Americans believe that
America’s current involvement with
the metric system is of relatively
recent origin. In fact, Presidents
Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy
Adams advocated the use of a decimal
based measurement system when the
United States was still in its infancy as
a Republic.

The voluntary use of the metric
system has been under way for many
years, though the pace has been
steadily accelerating in recent decades.
In 1866, Congress authorized the use
of the metric system in America and
supplied each state with a set of metric
weights and measures.

In 1875, the U.S. reinforced its
continuing interest in the development
of an internationally accepted

metric system by becoming

one of the original signatory nations
to the “Treaty of the Meter.”

In 1893, measurement standards
were established which adopted the
meter as the fundamental
measurement in the United States, and
since that time the customary
measurements, such as the foot, pound
and inch, have actually been defined in
terms of the metric system.

When Congress passed the Metric
Conversion Act of 1975, it declared that
the purpose of the United States Metric
Board is to “...coordinate and plan the
increasing use of the metric system in
the United States through a process of
voluntary conversion.” The Board is an
independent Federal agency

responsible for conducting public

information and education
programs and research,
coordination.
7 and planning

activities. It
is not the
role of the
Board to
promote
metric usage.



The Great Metric Unscramble

See if you can unscramble these 10 words to make the
correct metric units of measurement.

1. magr 6. olterilki 9. Olermteki
2. SleiuCs 7. icermteed 10. lilterilim
8. ermte 8. niermtetce
a. teril
s. olmagrki

©

TOUTTTUE ‘OT
ToOUIOT “6
qoSUTTIUS “g
TeOUTIOSP “4
TOMO “9
uredZ0Iy 'g
Jom
aejeur '¢
snIsteg “2
uredg “T



The activities offered in this booklet
are set up to be entertaining as well as
educational. They take advantage of
those everyday items with which
people are familiar. When people are
working with items they recognize and
know well, their enthusiasm,
receptivity and enjoyment will be
greater and your tasks will be simpler.

Words of Warning: Avoid Conversion

When using the leader’s guide, limit
your references to the customary
system. When people understand that
they have to think metric, it is easier
for them to do so. When questions do
arise about conversion, suggest that
they be held until the end of the
session, at which time you can provide
a conversion chart and enough
information for them to make
conversions easily.



United States Metric Board

LEADER'S GUIDE
FOR CONDUCTING
A METRIC USAGE
SEMINAR



Activity Section

Included in this section are 12
activities which you may wish to use
in conducting your usage seminar.

There are more activities here than
you can possibly use in one program,
so pick those which are most
appropriate for your group and with
which you personally are most
comfortable.

You may reproduce or alter any of
them to meet your needs and those of
your participants.

1. Length
Choose any six items anywhere in the
room. Guess their length in metric.
Once you have listed the items and
listed your estimates, measure them
and see how close you came.

Item

Estimate Measurement

2. Length

Estimate the length of these items to
the nearest centimeter. Then measure
them to see how close you came.

Length of your shortest finger
Length of a paper clip

Length of a cigarette

Width of a dollar bill
Diameter of a coin

3. Length

Estimate the length

of these items to the
nearest millimeter.
Then measure them to
see how close you came.

Width of your watch face
Length of a cigarette
Length of a fingernail
Length of a pen or pencil
Width of a necktie
Thickness of a coin

10



sted Agenda for Metric Usage Seminar

All of the topics suggested on this IV. Weight or Mass: the kilo-

A

program to meet the special needs of

Presentation of the liter: liter
vessels and examples from the
marketplace

. Explanation of and examples

of submultiples
Liter comparison and pouring
exercises

agenda, are briefly covered in this gram kg
booklet and can be supplemented with A. Explanation and presentation
additional materials available from the of the kilogram
US. Metric Board and your public B. Explanation of submultiple:
library. gram (8)

C. Presentation of commercial
You should feel free to alter this products of submultiples:

e.g. pharmaceuticals

your class. D. Comparison of kilogram and
liter of water
I. Introduction to SI metric E. Explanation of relationship
and metric usage among liter, meter, kilogram
A. Background history on. F. Weighing of individuals on
measurement bathroom scale
B. Background history on metrics V. Temperature:
in America degrees Celsius °C
C. Information on the increasing A. Explanation of the Celsius
use of metrics in America scale
D. Overview of the metric system B. Demonstration of the
II. Length: the meter m temperature with ice cubes,
A. Presentation of the meter: water and thermometers.
stick or tape or both C. Introduction of metric
B. Explanation of submultiples: temperature poem for interpo-
millimeter (mm) and centi- lation
meter (cm) VI. Conclusion and Review
C. Practice in measuring A. Review of base units
D. Estimating exercise B. Review of prefixes
E. Height measuring exercise C. Review of symbols
F. Any additional exercises D. Sources for additional
G. Explanation of multiples: information
kilometer (km)
III. Volume: the liter L



Instructionstothe Instructor ._ :

Philosophy

This booklet is based on the
philosophy of learning by doing.
Experience shows that people learn
the metric system most easily when
they are thinking metric, when they

We make many measurements

pedal in a car, the distance from a
traffic light when we start to slow
down, the size of a hamburger
package we buy for dinner. Through
practice we have honed our sense of
size, distance, proportion, scale and
measurement.

develop a metric eye for measurement.

every day and rarely think about most
of them: how hard we press the brake

In this booklet, the suggested
activities have been designed to develop
a metric eye. This is done through
estimating, observing, and finally by
measuring accurately.

Hints

A relaxed and easy atmosphere will
facilitate learning. Introducing the
seminar with enthusiasm, humor and
a sense of fun will set the tone you
want and reduce the anxiety level and
resistance of participants.

Having a friend help you with the
activities will also provide the kind of
special attention which people often
want in this kind of active learning
situation.



our Metric Knowledg

Test your metric knowledge: Circle the correct
answer to each of these ten multiple choice

questions.

1. What metric measure &. When weighing a 3. If the temperature 6. What is the metric
‘would you use to moose in metric, outside is 35 degrees measure used for snow
measure the length of a which measure Celsius, what will you skis?
pencil? would you use? most likely be doing? Vi
gram kilogram cross-country skiing centimeters
Celsius meter ice skating liters
liter Celsius swimming grams
centimeter liter hiking 7. At birth, which one of

4. Which is the shortest these babies might
distance? weigh 3 kilograms?
23 liters moose
24 meters elephant
25 centimeters flea
26 millimeters human

8. If you were buying” 8. Which of these is about.
tomato juice that had the same size asa
been packaged in a liter?
metric sized can, what gallon
metric measure would quart

be used? ounce
kilometers inch
liters 9. About how much

Celsius

does a P cli
tons does a pape ip

1 kilogram
1 liter

1 gram
1 meter

10. Which one of these

‘width of an average
doorway?

ay



A Short History of the Metric System

The metric system was developed by
the French nearly 200 years ago. The
French replaced such measures as
the inch (defined as three
round and dry
barleycorns laid
end to end), the
foot (36 barley-
corns), the yard
(the distance from
y the end of the nose

of King Edgar, a
deceased Anglo-Saxon
monarch, to

the tip of his
outstretched
hand), and the

mile, which

y

was defined as the distance a Roman
soldier traveled in 1000 paces.

The introduction of the metric
system was an attempt to make
measurement more precise, by
developing constant uniform standards
of weights and measures.

In 1791 the French National
Assembly adopted the decimal system
of measurement which we now call the
metric system. The name is derived



Loi

Prefix Symbol Relation to Unit Example

More Kilo 1000 of them 1 kilogram = 1000 grams

than Cxill-o),

one hecto h 100 of them 1 hectometer = 100 meters

ofa (heck-toe)

unit deka 10 of them il dekameter = 10 meters

(deck-aah)

6se deci d 1/10 of unit 1 deciliter = 0.1 liter

than. (deh-see)

one centi ce 1/100 of a unit 1 centimeter =

ofa (sen-tee) 0.01 meter

unit milli m 1/1000 of unit 1 milliliter =

(mill-ee) 0.001 liter
12. Weight or Mass
Pick up one of the cubic centimeter
blocks which have a mass (weight) of
one gram. Then choose five small
objects in the room. Hold them in your
hand. Make your estimate,
record it, and WAM aN
check your
accuracy.
MA
Handouts
w Use any of the
= following activities
~ as handouts during
= =} your class or as
. = exercises for the
| students to use on.

ns )

their own.



‘alse Quiz

Try these 10 metric T@F statements.

1. Acentimeter is one-

hundredth of a meter. TF
2. A kilometer is shorter

than a mile. TF
3. A liter is larger than

a quart. Tt F
4. A meter is longer than

ayard. Tt F
8. There are five hundred

milliliters in a liter. TF
6. Metric conversion is

voluntary in America. T F
‘7. Photographic film is

measured in meters. TF
8. Zero degrees Celsius is

the same as 100 degrees

Fahrenheit. T F
9. The symbol kg is the

same as kilogram. TF

10. The approximate
thickness of a dime
is 1mm. TF

«

Ee EE By a ee
Haiti Gordad

i

18


Objectives ...... 6. eee eee eee cece 1
Ashort history of the metric

SYSEM 0... eee cece eee eee eens 2
Metric usage in the United

Why and Where is metric usage
increasing? ......... cece eee eee 5
Instructions to the instructor ..... 6
Philosophy
Hints
Words of warning
Basic teaching materials.......... 8
Suggested agenda for the metric

Activities section: .........--.666-
length
volume
weight/mass
degrees Celsius
Handout activities ...........+++- 14
Sources of additional

Objectives:

The purpose of this booklet is to
provide you with the background and
tools to conduct a metric usage
seminar based on hands-on learning
opportunities for the participants.

The seminar consists of background on
the metric system, learning metric
terms and practicing making metric
measurements.

The suggestions and exercises in this
pooklet are designed to help people
learn to “think metric” in their daily
lives: as consumers, as citizens and as
workers. In addition, there is also a
sample agenda which shows one useful
and tested progression of events. Feel
free to alter it to meet your own needs.



Published by the

United States Metric Board

Office of Public Awareness
and Education

Suite 400

1600 Wilson Boulevard

Arlington, Virginia 22209

703-235-2820



4. Volume

Pour different amounts of water into
any vessel which is not graduated.
Guess the volume of water and then
find the true amount.

5. Volume

Estimate each of these volumes of
water. Pour what you think is that

amount into an ungraduated vessel.
Then check the true measurement.

250 milliliters
80 milliliters
‘750 milliliters

6. Volume

Fill a large bucket with water. Pour out
amounts which you think are equal

to each of the quantities listed below.
Measure to see how accurate

you were.

one liter

28 milliliters
8 liter
2 liters



How Hot Is It in Metric?

Use the following chart and poem to
answer the questions written below.

To figure what kind of day it will be
(metrically speaking), remember the
following poem:

Thirty is hot
Twenty is nice

Ten is cool
Zero is ice

Try the following questions:

ros
eae

At thirty-five degrees Celsius, what would you wear outside?

If you visited a friend in Nome, Alaska, in December, what might
the temperature be at midnight?
What is the temperature at noon during your favorite season of
the year?

What is the temperature at noon during the season of the year
you like least?

14