Do they still teach the metric system in schools? (Pittsburgh: buying, middle school)

[Pitts10yrs]

I was just curious if they still teach both systems? It just seems the rest of the world is metric, all except America. We still do Miles not Kilometer, and we certainly have no idea what Celcius (sp?) is all about.

[greg42]

Science is all pretty much done in metric. Whether they still learn the various prefixes and stuff in elementary school. But they would almost have to for any foundation to take, say, chemistry.

Going on 22 years now though for me since I graduated from high school.

What I always think is funny is the bits of metric that stuck for whatever reason. 2-liter bottles of Coke is a good example. It's not always a common size in other countries so that's not the reason we have them here. But it's almost entirely for the carbonated beverages (and some water) like that and not so much other liquids. A few other things come in liter bottles like olive oil, but those are often imported that way so makes sense. No switching happened with milk or juice really. Wine and booze are in metric now, though sometimes we still say fifth. Some things are in a liter but most are in 750ml or 1.75 liter. There are a few things we commonly measure in millimeters, like tires for example. That first number in the tire size, like 205, that's the width in mm.

[ML North]

Imperial units are the norm in the industry in which I work.

Metric units are typically the norm in high school sciences because the pound-weight / pound-force thing, among many other oddities in the imperial system, would be tricky for high school kids to grasp. In college I used both, kind of depends on the discipline and background of the professor.

I worked for a defense contractor in Pittsburgh while in college and metric units were never used. The story was that we wanted it to be difficult for operators of opposing forces to operate US equipment if by chance they were to capture and take control of it. Good rumor, if nothing else.

[UKyank]

That is a very overly broad statement. Many countries use miles for distance as well as other imperial measurements (acres etc.) Yes the metric system is more prominent but to say what comes across as a snide 'all except america' statement shows some worldly ignorance.
I'm also pretty sure most people know what Celsius is all about, it's just not used here.
Not to mention, how could a science class be taught without covering the metric system in the US or anywhere anyways.

[happywithbraddock]

I love metric. It's like Canadian money used to be. Years ago, when I had a Leyland Mini, I loved pulling onto the M1 and gunning it up to 80! I think I once hit 90 on a downhill...

[ctoocheck]

We learned the prefixes and stuff in middle school, I think. We used metric in high school chem. I think we used both in HS physics. We also used both systems in college for physics and stuff.

[MathmanMathman]

Gasoline was briefly sold by the liter in the US many years ago. I think it was because gasoline prices soared and the pumps couldn't register dollars per gallon so they switched to liters. A liter is about a quart so it cut the dollars per gallon price by about a fourth. Maybe the pumps could work in gallons or liters so the pumps were switched to liters?

Anyway, new models came out and they went back to gallons. I agree though that it is funny that we think nothing of buying soda pop by the liter. There was an effort by local news stations to report the weather in both fahrenheit and celsius but that didn't last. I think CNN has or had been using kilometers and then giving the equivalent in miles.

I don't know why, but Europeans don't seem to like it if I try to convert miles to kilometers for them. It's almost as if they hate that I have a power over them that I know something they don't. A good estimate, and the math is not hard to do in your head, is a kilometer is about 2/3 of a mile. Also a meter is a bit longer than a yard, and a liter is a bit more than a quart.

Science is taught entirely in metric. I believe ALL bicycles are metric. And I think engineering is mostly metric. Electrical engineering is metric. Maybe the civil engineers use imperial a lot?

I guess the one big advantage of the imperial system is poetic. Mile, foot, feet, inch, pound, gallon, pint, etc sound better in songs than centimeter, kilometer, kilogram, liter, etc.

[ki0eh]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

Maybe the civil engineers use imperial a lot?

Except for milligrams per liter just about everything a municipal civil/environmental engineer deals with is in US customary units.

One PA hiking trail uses metric units of measure in its maps and guides. See from Mid State Trail Association of Pennsylvania

Why does MST use the metric system?

The MST was the first hiking trail in the United States to use metric measure. The second edition of the guide (1973) was completely metric. Metrication is a patriotic measure designed to help end our cultural isolation and ease our chronic balance of payments problems. Click here for more information.

[paddy205]

I too am a civil engineer. A few years back PennDOT tried to go to the metric system but contractors had to convert everything back to English (US customary units) to buy materials and determine unit prices and it became too cumbersome so we switched back to US customary. The professional licensure exam for engineers uses both systems and I learned both in HS, college and grad school.

[ditchdigger]

Metrication is a patriotic measure designed to help end our cultural isolation and ease our chronic balance of payments problems.

Oh please. If that's not the stupidest thing I've ever read...