Final answer:
The IN operator is used within SQL to check if a value matches any item in a list, not to search for character patterns. For comparing metric measurements, inequality symbols such as '<', '>', and '=' are used to show how they relate.
Step-by-step explanation:
The IN comparison operator is not used to search for a pattern of characters; instead, it is utilized within SQL databases to determine whether a value matches any value in a list or subquery. When we're discussing metric measurements and how they are related, we typically use inequality symbols. For example, the '<' (less than) or '>' (greater than) symbols can be used to compare different measurements, such as saying 5 kg is less than 10 kg (5 kg < 10 kg). The '=' (equal to) symbol is used to express that two measurements are the same (5 kg = 5 kg).
In cases where we want to express that something is not equal or differs by more than a certain amount, we would use the '!=' (not equal to) or the '<' and '>' with a combining '=' (less than or equal to, greater than or equal to) as in 5 kg != 6 kg or 4 kg <= 5 kg.