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Weights and measures

  • Weights and measures are systems used to express the quantity, size, or weight of substances and objects.

  • There are two main systems of weights and measures: the Imperial system and the Metric system.

1. Imperial system of Weights and measures:

  • The Imperial system, also known as the British Imperial system, originated in the United Kingdom and was widely used in British colonies and territories.

  • The Imperial system uses a set of units for measuring length, weight, and volume. Some of the commonly used Imperial units include:

Length:

  • Inch (in): A unit of length equivalent to 2.54 centimeters

  • Foot (ft): A unit of length equivalent to 12 inches or 30.48 centimeters

  • Yard (yd): A unit of length equivalent to 3 feet or 36 inches or 0.9144 meters

  • Mile (mi): A unit of length equivalent to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet or 1.609 kilometers

Weight:

  • Ounce (oz): A unit of weight equivalent to 28.35 grams

  • Pound (lb): A unit of weight equivalent to 16 ounces or 453.59 grams

  • Stone (st): A unit of weight equivalent to 14 pounds or 6.35 kilograms

  • Hundredweight (cwt): A unit of weight equivalent to 112 pounds or 50.80 kilograms (long hundredweight) or 100 pounds or 45.36 kilograms (short hundredweight)

Volume:

  • Fluid ounce (fl oz): A unit of volume equivalent to 29.57 milliliters (US) or 28.41 milliliters (UK)

  • Pint (pt): A unit of volume equivalent to 16 fluid ounces or 473.18 milliliters (US) or 20 fluid ounces or 568.26 milliliters (UK)

  • Quart (qt): A unit of volume equivalent to 2 pints or 0.946 liters (US) or 1.137 liters (UK)

  • Gallon (gal): A unit of volume equivalent to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters (US) or 4.546 liters (UK)

2. Metric system of Weights and measures:

  • The Metric system, also known as the International System of Units (SI), is a decimal-based system that is widely used worldwide for scientific, industrial, and everyday measurements.

The Metric system uses a set of base units for measuring length, mass (weight), and volume, along with prefixes that indicate multiples or fractions of the base units. Some of the commonly used Metric units include:

Length:

  • Millimeter (mm): A unit of length equivalent to 0.001 meters

  • Centimeter (cm): A unit of length equivalent to 0.01 meters

  • Meter (m): The base unit of length in the Metric system

  • Kilometer (km): A unit of length equivalent to 1,000 meters

Mass (Weight):

  • Milligram (mg): A unit of mass equivalent to 0.001 grams

  • Gram (g): The base unit of mass in the Metric system

  • Kilogram (kg): A unit of mass equivalent to 1,000 grams

  • Tonne (t): A unit of mass equivalent to 1,000 kilograms or 1,000,000 grams

Volume:

  • Millilitre (mL) or Cubic centimeter (cm³): A unit of volume equivalent to 0.001 liters

  • Liter (L): The base unit of volume in the Metric system

  • Cubic meter (m³): A unit of volume equivalent to 1,000 liters

  • The Metric system is widely preferred over the Imperial system due to its simplicity and ease of use, especially in scientific and international contexts.


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