32 GENERAL SCIENCE 



Washington. The length of the meter in terms of the 

 English system is 39.37 inches (Figure 24). 



The standard unit of volume of the metric system is the 

 liter. It is the volume of a cube each edge of which is 

 one tenth of a meter. The liter is a little larger than a 

 quart, being equivalent to 1.057 quarts. 



The standard unit of weight of the metric system is the 

 kilogram (Figures 25-26). The kilogram is the weight of 



Courtesy of Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C. 

 FIG. 26. United States National Prototype Kilogram. 



a liter of water of 4 Centigrade or 39.20 Fahrenheit. 

 Since the standard meter has been measured in terms 

 of light waves and the other standards are defined in 

 terms of the standard meter, it would now be possible to 

 make new standards if those which now exist should be 

 destroyed. 



Metric Tables 



LENGTH 



10 millimeters (mm.) = 1 centimeter 

 10 centimeters (cm.) = 1 decimeter 

 10 decimeters (dm.) = 1 meter 

 1000 meters (m.) = 1 kilometer 



