Depending upon where on the planet you’re driving, you may see the speed limitation published in kilometers per hour rather of miles per hour. The conversion make a huge distinction. mikroman6/ Getty Images
The kilometer (km) is a basic system of measurement utilized in the metric system. Stemmed from the French “kilomètre,” the system is utilized to determine length and range along a straight course.
You would likely pick kilometers over meters or millimeters to determine roadways and other country miles considering that a wider system variety is required. Continue reading to get more information about the metric system and when to utilize kilometers rather of smaller sized systems of measurement.
How Does the Metric System Work?
The metric system is easy to find out since you can determine ranges or volume in multiples of 10. Meters are the requirement on which all the other measurement systems are based. A centimeter is equivalent to 1/100th of a meter, and a millimeter is equivalent to 1/100th of that system measurement.
That smaller sized system variety is appropriate for determining the location of a space, however when taking a trip north on a highway, it would be aggravating attempting to approximate such a big measurement of speed or range with small measurements.
Transforming From Imperial to Metric
The royal system works the exact same method, other than it utilizes miles, feet and inches in location of kilometers, meters and centimeters.
One mile amounts to 1.609 km, 1 foot equates to approximately a 3rd of a meter, and 1 inch has to do with 2.5 centimeters. Keep in mind that, in this conversion, we’re referring particularly to a mile on land– not a nautical mile, which is a little longer (about 1.8 km).
Runners are among the couple of groups of individuals who keep in mind these conversions because races are typically determined in kilometers. For everybody else, there are a number of apps and conversion calculators offered if you ever require to make a fast range computation.
Why Does the American Pronunciation of Kilometer Place Primary Stress on the Second Syllable?
For any nation that utilizes the metric system, the word “kilometer” is typically pronounced with the tension on the very first syllable (KI-lo-meter). On the other hand, a nation like the United States that utilizes the royal mile to determine range might utilize a pronunciation with tension on the 2nd syllable.
This 2nd pronunciation pattern is likewise discovered in examples like speedometer, however the previous pronunciation is more precise, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary.