Converting to Metric

Most Americans think the metric system is much harder to learn than it really is. This is because they think about metric units in terms of U.S. units. They read there are 28.35 grams in 1 ounce and are immediately convinced they will never be able to learn metrics.

Most of the time, you do not need to worry about being able to convert U.S. units into metric units and vice versa. This is a very important point to remember, especially if you think the metric system might be hard to learn.

The reason is simple. You will usually be working in either one system or the other. You will rarely have to convert from one to the other. Many people today own imported cars and repair them with metric tools without worrying about how many millimeters are in 1 inch. Occasionally you might find a metric formula you want to try in a U.S. kitchen. Even then, much modern equipment, such as digital scales, measures in both metric and U.S. units, so conversion isn’t needed. When it is necessary to convert, you can refer to a table such as the one in appendix 1 without having to memorize exact conversion factors. For most purposes, all you have to remember is the information in the table on this page.