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The main purpose of introducing the metric system was to have a single unit of measurement used all over the world - a common standard. The main problem with the imperial system is that it is not standard. Not only is SI (international system, the current version of the metric system) already used in most countries, but definitions of units such as "pound" vary from one country to another. The meter, kilogram, etc. are standardized internationally.

Other reasons to use the international system is that the units are consistent, making several formulae simpler (i.e., no additional conversion factors required in some formulae), and especially the metric prefixes, which make it much easier to convert from large to small units and vice versa. For example, to convert 17 kilometers to meters, multiply by 1000. You can easily do this calculation in your head. Now try converting 17 miles to feet, or to inches.

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Q: Why is it bad to use the imperial system?
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