CONVERSIONS

• A unit conversion is a changing of one unit to another
• Metric units are the universally accepted units around the world (except for the US)
• Metric Unit Examples:

  • Meters
  • Liters
  • Grams
• Base Units for metric units are meters, liters, and grams
• Common Metric Units (Prefixes):

  • Mega- (M)
  • Kilo- (k)
  • Hecto- (h)
  • Deka- (da or D)
  • Base- (m, l, g)
  • Deci- (d)
  • Centi- (c)
  • Milli- (m)
  • Micro- (μ)
  • Nano- (n)
• Metric Conversion Factors:

  • 1 km = 1000 m
  • 100 cm = 1 m
  • 1000 mm = 1 m
  • 10 mm = 1 cm
• Dimensional Analysis:

  • A mathematical way to convert one unit to another
  • Works by taking the given unit and multiplying it by a conversion factor
• Example 1: Convert 3m to cm

  • 3m * 100 cm / 1m
• Example 2: Convert 1516g to kg

  • 1516g * 1kg / 1000g
• Example 3: Convert 7200mm to km

  • 7200mm * 1cm / 10mm * 1km / 100,000cm
• Non-Metric (English) Unit Conversions:

  • Common Conversion Factors:
  • 5280 ft = 1 mile
  • 12 in = 1 ft
  • 1 mile = 1600 m
  • 1 in = 2.54 cm
  • 3 ft = 1 yard
• Example 4: Convert 2 miles to ft

  • 2 mi * 5280 ft / 1 mi
• Example 5: Convert 5 ft to cm

  • 5 ft * 12 in / 1 ft * 2.54 cm / 1 in
• Warm-Up Solve using Dimensional Analysis:

  1. Convert 45 inches to cm

  2. Convert 8 m to inches
• Warm-Up Using Dimensional Analysis:

  1. Convert 10ft to cm

  2. Convert 5 km to in