Introduction

Do you know that in Vietnam, the system of measurement units is completely different from the United States? In Vietnam, we use the unit meter (m) to talk about length and height, square meters (m2) to talk about area, or cubic meters (m3) to measure volume, and kilograms (kg) to describe mass. In the United States, the unit of measurement for mass is pounds, distance is inches, feet, miles, and gallons, bushels, and cubic feet to measure volume.

Come along with Noble Network to learn about the measurement systems of the two countries such as length, height, area, volume, and weight to get acquainted and not feel confused when hearing native speakers use them.

Currently, the two most popular measurement unit systems include the Imperial measurement system and the SI (metric) measurement system.

Imperial System

The Imperial system is a measurement system used in many countries around the world. Developed from the early British system, the Imperial system is used mainly in countries with historical links to Great Britain such as England, the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom as well as some other countries. The Imperial measurement system is still used in many areas of everyday life, and more professionally in such fields as aviation, ground transportation, real estate, farming, and construction, with main units of length, weight, and volume such as inches, feet, yards, miles, bushels, acres, pounds, ounces, gallons, and pints.

 

SI System

The International System of Units, known internationally by the abbreviation SI (from the French Système International d’unités), is the modern form of the metric system and the most widely used measurement system in the world. Vietnam has officially used the SI system since 1980.

​The SI system has 7 base units that are the basis for all other units of measurement. These basic units are meter (length), kilogram (mass), second (time), ampere (electric current), kelvin (absolute temperature), mole (amount of substance), and candela (luminescent intensity).

The applications of the SI system are vast and diverse. In the scientific community, the SI system is essential for making accurate and precise measurements in many fields, including physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering. The SI system is also used in industry and commerce to accurately measure quantities such as length, mass and time. It is used in everyday life for cooking, measuring distances, and many other applications.

 

The widespread use of the SI system has simplified communication and information exchange across borders and industries. By adopting a single, universal system of measurement, the SI system eliminated the confusion and conflicts that arose from the use of different measurement systems in different parts of the world. Today, the SI system provides an important component of modern science, industry, and commerce.

Examples of Differences