Discussion week 1: Importance of a universal standard in measurements

Discussion: Week 1
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Discussion question 1
The significance of having a standard measurement method such as the International System of Units (SI) is to ensure that any measurement or calculation between different nations across the world do not have to be converted. In essence, a universal standard of measurement serves to prevent any unnecessary conversion and calculation errors. Using standard units of measurements is important since it makes it easier for people from various nations around the globe to communicate with each other. Moreover, the use of universal standard units implies that a measurement in that unit has similar value anywhere across the globe. There would be less waste and less confusion with a universal system of measurement. With a universal system of measurement in place, it would be possible to accurately compare results from different people; for instance 20ml is 20 ml everywhere in the world.
The NASA probe that was scheduled to land on planet Mars for scientific research failed to land since the contractor used conventional English measurements whilst NASA works with the metric system – the scientific standard. The engineers had sent a command to burn a particular amount of fuel so as to correct the trajectory of the spacecraft, but they calculated and sent the value in cubic feet per minute whilst the spacecraft was designed to operate with liters per second. That discomforting mistake cost NASA $125 million, and it illustrates the reason as to why having universal system of measurement in science is vital for teamwork on which so much of science is based upon. Standardizing units of measurements implies that regardless of the country that one is in, the measurement would always mean the same distance and quantity. The science community in different countries around the world needs to communicate, and it would be hard to exchange ideas without having a universal standard in place. In essence, a universal standard of measurement will reduce the confusion when dissimilar measurement systems are utilized, and it makes it easier to compare measurements that different people took.
The 2 systems used to measure things are Metric and English. English measurements are utilized in the United States alone, whereas metric measurements are utilized in almost every other nation globally. The metric system of measurement is basically a decimalized measurement system that is based upon the gram and the meter. The metric system seeks to: (i) have just one unit for any physical quantity, and (ii) to reduce the usage of conversion factors whenever one makes calculations with physical quantities. For instance, every distance and len...