why is the metric system called a decimal system of measurement?

Question

Chemistry lab question

Answer 1

I would assume because you can make conversions simply by moving a decimal the correct number of places.

Answer 2

Because we are the Land of the Free, and nobody anywhere has ever freely adopted the Metric System. Where it has become commonplace, Metric has always required a lengthy period during which its use was compulsory; "Adopting" Metric depends on the power of authorities to impose it. If Metric offered advantages as great as its proponents claim, everybody would use it voluntarily. The USA adopted Metric concepts in small ways between the 1790s and the 1860s, and in 1866 the whole system became legal--a process similar to that in other countries except that the "adoption" in the US was voluntary--it is legal to use metric units, but not compulsory. Eating, drinking, and breathing, for example, do not require an act of Congress to "adopt" them for use in the US. They just come naturally--and much of the traditional system of measurement evolved naturally too. In the US, Metric units are legal and are widely used in specific cases where they really are advantageous.

Answer 3

Decimals are based on the number 10 as is the metric system.