Imperial and Metric Units

http://www.qub.ac.uk/keyskills/WN/NumeracyImperial.html

Imperial and Metric Units

What are Imperial and metric units of measurement? Imperial units of measurement are the units that were in common usage in this country up until about thirty years ago. Even after the introduction of the metric system, Imperial units have continued to be in everyday use in varying degrees. Metric units of measurement are the units originally used in mainland Europe, adopted in this country when we joined the European Economic Community (as it was then called) in the early 1970s. It is based upon a decimal system where each unit is divided into blocks of 10 smaller units. You can scroll down to read all the help in this section or click on one of the links below to go straight to a specific area. It is useful to know how to convert within each of the systems of measurement, and also to be able to convert between the two. This section gives the conversion rates for some of the common Imperial and metric measures for: Length Area Mass/Weight Volume/Capacity Length Imperial units of measurement. 1 foot (ft or ) 1 yard (yd) 1 mile 1 int nautical mile Metric units of measurement. 1 centimetre (cm) 1 metre (m) 1 kilometre (km) Converting from Imperial to metric measurements. 1 in 1 in 1 ft 1 yd 1 mile Converting from metric to Imperial measurements. 1 mm 1 cm 1m 1m 1 km Area = 12 inches (in or ") = 3 feet = 1,760 yards = 2,025.4 yards

= 10 millimetres (mm) = 100 centimetres = 1,000 metres = 25.4 mm = 2.54 cm = 0.3048 m = 0.9144 m = 1.6093 km = 0.0394 in = 0.3937 in = 3.2808 ft = 1.0936 yd = 0.6214 miles

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Imperial and Metric Units

http://www.qub.ac.uk/keyskills/WN/NumeracyImperial.html

Imperial units of measurement.

1 sq foot (ft2) 1 sq yard (yd2) 1 acre 1 sq mile

= 144 sq inches (in2) = 9 sq feet = 4,840 sq yards = 640 acres = 100 sq mm (mm2) = 10,000 sq cm = 100 hectares = 6.4516 cm2 = 0.0929 m2 = 0.8361 m2 = 4046.9 m2 = 2.590 km2 = 0.1550 in2 = 10.7643 ft2 = 1.1960 yd2 = 0.0002 acres (not used)

Metric units of measurement.

1 sq cm (cm2) 1 sq metre (m2) 1 sq km (km2)

Converting from Imperial to metric measurements.

1 in2 1 ft2 1 yd2 1 acre 1 mile2

Converting from metric to Imperial measurements.

1 cm2 1 m2 1 m2 1 m2 1 km2

= 0.3861 mile2

Mass/Weight Imperial units of measurement. 1 ounce (oz) 1 pound (lb) 1 stone 1 hundredweight (cwt) 1 ton Metric units of measurement. 1 gram (g) 1 metric carat 1 kilogram (kg) 1 tonne (t) Converting from Imperial to metric measurements. 1 grain 1 oz 1 grain 1 lb 1 stone 1 cwt 1 ton = 437.5 grains = 16 ounces = 14 pounds = 112 pounds = 20 hundredweight = 1,000 milligrams (mg)

= 0.2 grams = 1,000 grams = 1,000 kilograms = 64.9351 mg = 28.35 g = 0.3240 metric carats

= 0.4536 kg = 6.3503 kg = 50.802 kg = 1.016 t

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Imperial and Metric Units

http://www.qub.ac.uk/keyskills/WN/NumeracyImperial.html

Converting from metric to Imperial measurements.

1 mg 1g 1 metric carat 1 kg 1 kg 1 kg 1t

= 0.0154 grain = 0.0353 oz = 3.0865 grains = 2.2046 lb = 0.1575 stone = 0.0197 cwt = 0.9842 ton

Volume/Capacity Imperial units of measurement. 1,728 cu inches (in3) 20 fluid ounces (fl oz)

1 cu foot (ft3) 1 cu yard (yd3) 1 pint (pt) 1 gallon (gal)

= 27 cu feet (ft3) =

= 8 pints = 1,000 cu cm (cm3) = 1,000 cu decimetre = 1 cu decimetre = 100 l = 16.387 cm3 = 28.3286 dm3 = 0.0283 m3 = 0.7646 m3 = 28.413 ml = 0.5683 l = 4.546 l = 0.0455 hl

Metric units of measurement.

1 cu decimetre (dm3) 1 cu metre (m3) 1 litre (l) 1 hectolitre (hl)

Converting from Imperial to metric measurements.

1 in3 1 ft3 1 ft3 1yd3 1fl oz 1 pint 1 gallon 1 gallon

(NB US pints and gallons are not the same as those used in the UK) Converting from metric to Imperial measurements. 1 cm3 1 dm3 1 m3 1 m3 1 ml 1l 1l 1 hl = = = = = = = = 0.0610 in3 0.0353 ft3 35.3357ft3 1.3080 yd3 0.0352 fl oz 1.76 pints (UK) 0.220 gallons (UK) 21.997 gallons (UK)

Written by Louise Thorpe, Learning and Teaching Institute, Sheffield Hallam University Courseware designed by Mark Briggs, Centre for Multimedia in Education, Sheffield Hallam University LTI, Sheffield Hallam University 2000

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