Chapter 11
Weighty Questions on Weights and Measures
In This Chapter
Reviewing the English system of measurement
Understanding the metric system of measurement
Knowing a few tricks for approximating metric units in English units
Converting more precisely between metric and English units
Units connect numbers to the real world. For example, the number 2 is just an idea until you attach a unit: 2 apples, 2 children, 2 houses, 2 giant squid, and so forth. Apples, children, houses, and giant squid are easy to do math with because they're all discrete — that is, they're separate and easy to count one by one. For example, if you're working with a basket of apples, applying the Big Four operations is quite straightforward. You can add a few apples to the basket, divide them into separate piles, or perform any other operation that you like.
However, lots of things aren't discrete but rather continuous — that is, they're difficult to separate and count one by one. To measure the length of a road, the amount of water in a bucket, the weight of a child, the amount of time a job takes to do, ...
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