5: Measurement
- Page ID
- 59950
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- 5.1: U.S. Customary Measurement System
- Measurement is a number that describes the size or amount of something. You can measure many things like length, area, capacity, weight, temperature and time. In the United States, two main systems of measurement are used: the metric system and the U.S. customary measurement system. This topic addresses the measurement of length using the U.S. customary measurement system.
- 5.2: Metric Units of Measurement
- In the United States, both the U.S. customary measurement system and the metric system are used, especially in medical, scientific, and technical fields. In most other countries, the metric system is the primary system of measurement. People in many countries use words like “kilometer,” “liter,” and “milligram” to measure the length, volume, and weight of different objects. These measurement units are part of the metric system.
- 5.3: Temperature Scales
- A TV weatherman in San Diego may forecast a high of 89°, but a similar forecaster in Tijuana, Mexico—which is only 20 miles south—may look at the same weather pattern and say that the day’s high temperature is going to be 32°. What’s going on here? The difference is that the two countries use different temperature scales. In the U.S, temperatures are usually measured using the Fahrenheit scale, while most countries that use the metric system use the Celsius scale to record temperatures.
- 5.4: Exercises
- This page contains 31 exercise problems related to the material from Chapter 5.
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