A discussion on American money and the metric system.
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Two students in your class are having an argument about the American money system. One claims it is an example of the metric system and the other claims it is not.
How do you help settle the argument?
In 1980 I was a middle-school math teacher. Congress passed the Metric Conversion Act which stated that the US of A would be metric by 1984. Schools were notified to adjust. Dollars were spent on teacher education, new text books, and materials. 1984 came and went. Why do you think the metric system was not adopted as Congress proposed?
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Solution Summary
The solution contains a discussion of the American money system and whether or not it is a metric system. The discussion also covers the trials and tribulations of implementing the metric system in the United States. Several surprising instances of how the metric system has permeated U.S. culture are introduced as well.
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1) Two students in your class are having an argument about the American money system. One claims it is an example of the metric system and the other claims it is not. How do you help settle the argument?
The metric system is one that is based on the number 10. A common number such as 32.543 is a decimal number. "Decimus" is Latin for tenth. Most number systems are based on the number ten. The U.S. currency was based on the decimal system in 1786. Many say that the U.S. had the first decimal based system. Others contend that Russia introduced the decimal system first. Because the metric systems is based on the number 10... and the decimal system is based on the number 10... and our currency is based on the number 10. The U.S. currency is an example of the metric system and perhaps the first currency of its kind. Example, $1 = 100 cents or 1 cent = ...
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