Advantages of English system over metric system?

Answer 1

Because the units are multiples of ten, they can easily be calculated using our base-ten number system, and expressed in interchangeable terms by simply moving the decimal point (no calculation is required, as in changing miles to feet).

The metric (SI) system is in use in more areas of the world than the others, including the English units of measure still widely in use in the US.

Answer 2

Other than familiarity and easier reference to past documents and measurements, there are few advantages to using non-metric systems.

The Fahrenheit scale of temperature has one slight advantage over the Celsius scale, that being the smaller size of its "degrees" (intervals which confusingly have the same nomenclature across several scales). It is possible to express a temperature in whole degrees Fahrenheit with greater accuracy than in Celsius (which has larger degree intervals). Fever temperatures of 99, 100, and 101 would normally be expressed using tenths of degrees in Celsius.

Answer 3

there aren't really any advantages there just based on 2 different math system the English off of the Carthaginian math which only had 6 digits and metric of of the modern numeric system which makes it a little more manageable

I knew there was a simple explanation.

Answer 4

The metric system is the English system well more like the Canadian system we used to use the imperial system in cananda but them switched to metric and now the U.S.A uses the imperial system and Canada uses metric USA can also use metric and Canada can also use imperial i hope this was useful to you! :)

Answer 5

Conversions and calculations are so much easier in the metric system.

Just look at the abundance of simplistic questions on WikiAnswers that relate to conversions. Many are due to the fact that non metric users don't understand that the metric system is decimal and based on ten as a number base.

The English system has different bases for each field of activity. Sometimes measurements are reciprocal sometimes not (thickness in gauge!?).

Small mesurements are in different units than large (inch, feet, yards, miles, as opposed to the metric system where everything is powers of ten with standardized prefixes to designate multiples of 1000).

In Europe, they used the dot to separate every thousandth place, and the decimal point is also a dot. UH... That's confusing. It would be 1.000 not 1,000! Confusing as heck! So what = 1? What = 1000?

The metric system is idiotic and doesn't need to use much of your brain, therefore you are not thinking about calculation but just putting a decimal point wherever you wanted. Too simplistic.

1 inch = 2.54 centimetres/centimeters? Come on? .54 at the end and they said it's easier to use? Can you easily remember 2.54 or 1?

36 inches = 1 yard.

They practically used the same thing, changing the word yard to meter?! How idiotic.

1 mile = 1.609.344 metres? What the heck? 344/1000ths of a meter defined in simplest terms = 1.609 86/250! 1.609? Isn't that 1 & 609/1000ths? Now if that's not confusing enough, I don' t know what is?

1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds? From this I'd asked you: How many kgs is in 1 pound? Can't answer me? I thought people using European metric measurements were very smart? The answer = .4545454545 = 45/99 or 5/11 kgs. Now

If 1 gram = 28 ounces, then the above would be invalid: 28 ounces multiplied by 16 ounces in one pound = 448 grams in one pound compared to the 454 grams in one pound almost always used in comparisons between English & metric systems.

It might be the Frenchmen who invented the metric system, but without the Greek language, the name "metric" would not even exist!

I'll hope you're writing silly answers in an attempt at humour.

Answer 6

For length, there is an advantage in using 12 inches to the foot - 12 can be divided by 2, 3, 4 or 6 so it makes some calculations easier. The other advantage I can think of is that the lengths are largely based on parts of the body - which means that it can be easier to estimate lengths (the thumb joint is roughly 1 inch, a foot is, roughly, a foot long, a pace is roughly a yard.

For other measurements, it's harder to make a case - weights (16 ounces to a pound but 14 pounds to a stone, 112 pounds to a hundredweight, 20 hundredweight to a ton are particularly inconsistent.

Answer 7

none, metric makes the most sense of any measuring system, I think the Brits use the metric system, you're thinking of the U.S., they're all messed up "5280 feet in a mile" that's so random! or 1000 meters in a km.?

What makes most sense to you? , every country in the world should make the switch, miles and feet are retarded!

Answer

For some strange reason, the Americans call their system of measurement, the 'English System' when many of their units, such as the gallon and the ton, are quite different to those used in what the British call the 'Imperial System'. It's rather like 'English Muffins', which no-one in Britain has heard of!

But to answer your question, there is no doubt that in science, engineering, and trade, the SI system is the clear winner. However, for many 'everyday' measurements it makes sense to use Imperial Units, as they are based on practical measurements.

Answer 8

The metric system has several advantages over the Imperial system.

1) The metric system units are all powers of 10. There are 10 centimeters in a decimeter, 10 decimeters in a meter, 10 meters in a decameter, etc.

2) The metric system has the same suffix. Meter, liter, or gram. Imperial has mile to yard to foot to inch.

3) The metric system is used worldwide other than US, Liberia and Myanmar.

Answer 9

There are several advantages. Some of them are:

1. They are internationally agreed as standard. Not like a gallon which can mean one amount in the US and different amount in the UK.

2. Orders of magnitude for measuring the same attribute are related by powers of ten so conversion is easy. A handful of prefices are required (although there are a lot more) and are applicable when measuring any attribute. By way of contrast, the Imperial system uses:

• 2 pints in a quart
• 3 feet in a yard
• 4 quarts in a gallon
• 6 feet in a fathom
• 8 furlongs in a mile
• 9 square feet in a square yard
• 12 inches in a foot
• 14 pounds in a stone
• 16 ounces in a pound

and so on, and on and on. The decimal structure also makes it simple to use scientific notation for very small and very large quantities.

3. It is used by most people in the world. The main recalcitrant countries are USA, Liberia and Myanmar. Even in the US, scientists normally use SI. When they don't they have disasters like the one that trashed NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter!

4. There are many simple relations between measures for one characteristic to another. For example, the SI unit of length is 1 metre. 100 square metres = 1 are, a unit for area. 1 cubic metre = 1000 litres, a unit for volume.

Answer 10

Old people are familiar with it, and ... that's about it, really.

PS: ... and I am retired, so not exactly a spring chicken!