2 The International System of Measuring Units (SI)

The metric system is simple and easy to learn. Do not become confused with all the details given in this chapter. You probably will not see most of the units in practical use. You should, however, learn the most common units for length, area, volume, mass, and temperature shown in Table 2-1. Prefixes are shown in Table 2-2. Preferred units are shown in bold. How the metric units relate to inch units are covered in Chapter 17. See conversion program.