What's the difference between a Metric tonne and an American(imperial) ton?

Question

i get confused with this since i live in toronto and we still use some American measurements and mostly Metric for the rest. but i'm pretty sure there is a difference, and spelled differently too.

Answer 1

The short ton is based on Imperial pounds, the metric tonne is based on kilograms.



One short ton is 2,000 pounds. The metric tonne is 1,000 kg.



That's it. Just two different systems of measurement, Imperial and metric. You can convert between ton (short) and tonne by using common conversions such as 2.2 lb / kg.

Answer 2

A metric tonne is one thousand kilograms; an imperial 'ton' is two thousand pounds.



Among other things, they're not really interchangeable because a 'tonne' measures mass and a 'ton' measures weight. They're very closely related, but not quite the same thing. Weight changes with gravity (you weigh less on the moon than you do here because there's less gravity there); mass is constant. If I went to the Moon I would only 'weigh' about 22 pounds. I'd still /mass/ 60 kilograms, which is the same 'mass' I have right here.



However, assuming you're at about sea level where weight and mass are effectively the same (that's completely arbitrary, but it's a fairly effective standard), one SI (metric) 'tonne' is equal to about 1.1 imperial 'tons.'