Метрическая система

The Metric System

Physics is a science based on exact measurement, so we all must be familiar with commonly used units of measurements. There are four basic concepts: length, mass, temperature and time. The units used to measure them are called fundamental units. There are two widely used sets of fundamental units: the Metric System and the English System. The Metric System or the International System is based on metric units. Using metric units length is usually measured in millimetres, centimetres, metres or kilometres; time is measured in seconds, minutes or hours; and mass is measured in drammes or kilogrammes. The English System uses the foot, yard and mile as units of length; the ounce, pound and ton as units of force and the second as the unit of time. Although the UK and the USA officially adopted the Metric System of units, but in practice they still widely use the English System. The chief advantage of the Metric System is that all units are divided into 10 or 100 parts. It is well known, these units are easier to manipulate in the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. This system was invented in France and accepted universally in science. Scientists have produced a code of standard symbols and to simplify the representation of units a standard list of abbreviations has been adopted. Scales to measure the temperature are also different. Centigrade scale is used mostly in Europe. It is such a scale, in which water freezes at zero and boils at 100 degrees. It is shown by the symbol C. In America, Fahrenheit scale is used to measure the temperature. It is such a scale in which water freezes at 32 degrees and boils at 212 degrees.

Task 1. Translate the words in the list without using dictionaries.

Physics, system, international, metre, gramm, mile, universally, metric, yard, standard, foot, symbol code, Centigrade, kilometres, pounds, measure.

Task 2. Complete the sentences.

1.Fundamental units are …. . 2.The Metric System is based …. . 3.The English System uses … . 4.The advantage of the Metric System is … . 5.For convenient representation of units we use …. 6.To measure the temperature, Americans use … .

Task 3. Answer the questions.

1.What units are used to measure length, mass, temperature and time? 2.What is the difference between the Metric System and the English System? 3.What is the advantage of the Metric System? 4.How can we represent units of measurement? 5.What scales of measuring the temperature do people use in America and Europe?

Task 4. 1.Calculate the distance to the Moon in kilomerters if the distance is 239,000 miles.2.Convert 79 cm to the equivalent in inches.3.Convert 19 kg to the equivalent in pounds.4.Calculate the distance to the Sun in kilometres if the distance is 90, 000, 000 miles.5.Convert 600F; -40F;1200Ft to the equivalent in Centigrade.6.Convert 112,12 g to the equivalent in ounces.

4. GRAMMAR

Words ounce, pound, ton, inch, mile, yard have plural forms: one inch – ten inches; one mile – four miles; one pound – six pounds; one ton – two tons. The word foot can be used in the plural - feet : six foot tall = six feet tall. The word stone hasn’t the plural form: one stone, 8 stone. Compound adjectives consisting of terms of length, mass, temperature and distance do not have plurals: a two-mile walk, a six-inch ruler, a ten-ton lorry.

Task 5. Translate the sentences into Russian paying attention to the units of measurement.

1.The TU-144 supersonic liner developed a speed of 2,430km per hour at an attitude of 16,960 metres. 2.He had travelled 60 miles to Liverpool and back on business. 3.The smallest spider is less than 1mm in body length and the biggest one can have body length up to 90mm. 4.The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second. 5.Galileo’s telescope had a lens only 2,25 inches in diameter. 6.The Cyclops, a 19,000-ton US ship vanished with its crew from the surface of the ocean without making a distress call. 7.Baby giant pandas are very small, blind, pinkish and weight about 5 ounces at birth.

Task 6. Translate the sentences into English paying attention to the units of measurement.

1. Наш университет находится в полумиле от центра города. 2.Последние модели спортивных автомобилей развивают скорость до 300 километров в час. 3.Огромный 10,000 тонный круизный лайнер отправился в плавание по Средиземному морю. 4.Неопознанный летающий объект, освещаемый ярким светом, парил в воздухе в 50 дюймах от земли около 15 секунд, а затем исчез в полумраке ночи. 5. Клей этой марки обеспечивает надежность склеивания в интервале температур от -60 до 300 градусов по Цельсию, а также стоек к воздействию влаги.