# >> College & Higher Education >> College

How to Convert Metric

The metric system was designed by the Academy of Science in the 18th Century at the request of the French government for a decimal-based unit of measurement that could be standardized and used worldwide. The metric system was quickly adopted by nearly every country in the world with the exception of the United States. The basic metric units of meters, grams and liters are almost universally used in scientific study and publishings. Converting metric units within the system is basic since the system is based on units of 10. Converting other units, such as inches, to metric require a bit more work.

Instructions

- 1
  Move the decimal point to the right of a metric number to see how many are in a larger metric unit. For example, the term kilo always means "thousand" in metric. So by moving the decimal point over three places to the right, you'll see how many meters are in a kilometer, which is 1000. This is the same for grams and kilograms. The decimal would move to the left three places if you are converting a smaller unit into a larger unit. A liter is .001 of a kiloliter. Hecto means 100, or two decimal places when converting, while deca means 10. Deci is .01, centi is .001 and milli is .001 of the base unit.
- 2
  Multiply the number of meters by 3.28 in order to covert to feet.
- 3
  Multiply the number of grams by .0022 to covert to pounds.
- 4
  Multiply the number of liters by 1.05 to convert to quarts.

Group Discussion Topics for MBA Admission

What Are Basic College Classes?