At the end of this chapter, the reader should be able to do the following: 1. State the units of measurement used in the United States Customary System. 2. State the units of measurement used in the metric system. 3. Convert units of measurement within the metric system. 4. Convert units of measurement between the metric system and the United States Customary System. 5. Compare and contrast the freezing and boiling points of water in the Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Kelvin temperature systems. 6. Convert among the Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Kelvin methods of temperature measurement. Measurement of length in this system begins with the inch and progresses to the mile and acre. Measurement of liquids begins with the teaspoon and progresses to the gallon. Measurements of dry volumes include the following: Prefixes before the basic units of measurement inform the reader if a measurement is larger or smaller than the basic unit. Memorizing the prefixes and their abbreviations in Table 3–1 will be helpful in learning the metric system. TABLE 3–1 Metric System Prefixes and Abbreviations Because the metric system is based on a scale of 10, conversion among different measurements within a unit is relatively simple (Table 3–2). A basic ratio and proportion calculation is all that is needed to perform the conversion. TABLE 3–2 How many milliliters are in a 2.0-L soda bottle? In order to convert liters to milliliters, the basic value of each must be known. According to Table 3–2, 1 mL is 10-3 smaller than the base value of 1 L; therefore, there are 1000 mL in 1 L. As discussed in more detail in Chapter 4, ratio and proportion is a great math tool that can be used for many laboratory calculations provided that there is a proportional relationship between two ratios. A ratio can be expressed as a fraction with a numerator (the top number of the fraction) and a denominator (the lower or bottom number of the fraction). In the following example, both the numerators are liters and the denominators are in milliliters. The relationship ratio is that there are 1000 mL in 1 L, which can be also expressed in scientific notation as 103 mL are equal to 1 L. Therefore, X mL = 2 liters is also a proportional relationship. To solve a ratio and proportion calculation, the numerator of the first ratio (1 L) is multiplied by the denominator of the second ratio (X mL). The denominator of the first ratio (1000 mL) is then multiplied by the numerator of the second ratio (2 L). This is called crossmultiplication. The liter units will cancel out leaving the final result in milliliters. Crossmultiplying the equation derives: There are 2000 mL (2.0×103 mL) in a 2.0-L soda bottle. Crossmultiplying the equation and solving for X: Using ratio and proportion, the answer is 35 dL or 3.5 × 101 dL. From Table 3-1, a milligram is 10-3 smaller than a gram. Using ratio and proportion: Therefore, the answer is 1000 mg or 1.0 × 103 mg.
Systems of Measurement
MEASUREMENT OF LENGTH, WEIGHT, AND MASS
United States Customary System
U.S. Customary System of Measurement of Length and Area
12 inches
= 1 foot
3 feet (36 inches)
= 1 yard
220 yards
= 1 furlong
8 furlongs
= 1 mile
1760 yards
= 1 mile
5280 feet
= 1 mile
1 square foot
= 144 square inches
1 square yard
= 9 square feet
43,560 square feet
= 1 acre
1 square mile
= 640 acres
U.S. Customary System of Liquid or Dry Measurement
1 teaspoon
= ⅓ tablespoon
2 tablespoons
= 1 fluid ounce
1 fluid ounce
= cup
2 fluid ounces
= ¼ cup
2⅔ fluid ounces
= ⅓ cup
4 fluid ounces
= ½ cup
5⅓ fluid ounces
= ⅔ cup
6 fluid ounces
= ¾ cup
8 fluid ounces
= 1 cup
2 cups
= 1 pint
2 liquid pints
= 1 liquid quart
4 liquid quarts
= 1 gallon
1 dry quart
= 2 dry pints
8 dry pints
= 1 peck
4 pecks
= 1 bushel
Metric System
length
= meter
mass
= gram
volume
= liter
Prefix
Abbreviation
Comparison to Basic Unit of 1 Gram, Meter, or Liter
Femto
f
10-15 smaller
Pico
p
10-12 smaller
Nano
n
10-9 smaller
Micro
μ
10-6 smaller
Milli
m
10-3 smaller
Centi
c
10-2 smaller
Deci
d
10-1 smaller
Deca
Da
101 larger
Hecto
H
102 larger
Kilo
K
103 larger
Mega
M
106 larger
Conversion Among Different Measurements Within the Metric System
Unit
Abbreviation
Comparable Unit
1 megameter
(Mm) =
1,000,000 or 106 meters
1 kilometer
(Km) =
1000 meters
1 deciliter
(dL) =
0.1 or 10-1 liters
10 deciliters
(dL) =
1 liter
1 centimeter
(cm) =
0.01 or 10-2 meters
10 centimeters
(cm) =
1 decimeter
1 milliliter
(mL) =
0.001 or 10-3 liters
1 millimeter
(mm) =
0.001 or 10-3 meters
10 millimeters
(mm) =
1 centimeter
1 microgram
(μg) =
0.000001 or 10-6 grams
1000 micrograms
(μg)=
1 milligram
1 nanometer
(nm) =
0.000000001 or 10-9 meters
1000 nanometers
(nm) =
1 micrometer
1 picogram
(pg) =
0.000000000001 or 10-12 grams
1000 picograms
(pg) =
1 nanogram
1 femtoliter
(fL) =
0.000000000000001 or 10-15 liters
1000 femtoliters
(fL) =
1 nanoliter
1 cm2
=
100 mm2
1 m2
=
1,000,000 mm2
1 mm3
=
1 microliter
1 cm3
=
1 milliliter
Example 3–1
How many deciliters are in 3.5 L?
How many milligrams are in 1.0 g?
How many centimeters are in 1 km?
Systems of Measurement
![](https://clinicalpub.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/banner1.png)