Due to math content, this page has special requirements (including JavaScript) for full functionality.
With your current viewing scenario, it is not appearing and behaving as it is supposed to!
Please visit Dr. Carol J.V. Fisher's Homepage to learn what this site has to offer.
Watch the "Welcome" video to get started—hope to see you back here soon!
Dr. Carol J.V. Fisher's Homepage
For this exercise, you need
♥ INTERNET EXPLORER 6.0 and above, with MathPlayer installed.♥
ONE-STEP CONVERSIONS
Jump right to the exercises!
Note: MathPlayer is only required for the concept discussion (below).
It is not required for the web exercise.
The concepts for this exercise are summarized below.
For a complete discussion, read the text.
You have seen multiplying by 1 in an appropriate form
used to get a common denominator when adding fractions;
this is only one of a multitude of uses for this important technique.
One of the most common applications of
multiplying by 1 in an appropriate form
occurs in the context of unit conversion, which is the subject of this section and the next.
Often, in life, you're required to convert a quantity from one unit to another.
For example, you might need to convert centimeters to inches; miles to feet; tablespoons to teaspoons;
or feet/second (read as "feet per second") to miles/hour ("miles per hour").
In such cases, you have a quantity of interest,
but are seeking a new name for that quantity.
The process of finding this new name is called unit conversion.
IMPORTANT FACT:
Whenever you have a fraction where the numerator and denominator are equal,
then the fraction represents the number 1 .
For example, since 1 meter = 1000 millimeters ,
1 meter
1000 millimeters
=
1000 millimeters
1 meter
=1
Or, since 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons ,
1 tablespoon
3 teaspoons
=
3 teaspoons
1 tablespoon
=1
A "one-step" conversion only requires multiplying by the number 1 once.
EXAMPLE
Any unit of length can be converted to any other unit of length. For example,
Or,
Notice the different names for the number 1 needed in each case!
Feel free to use scrap paper and a calculator to compute your answers.
Use ONLY the conversion information given in the
Unit Conversion Tables to compute your answers.
EXAMPLES:
Convert 7 ft to in
Answer: 84
If you get an exact answer that uses 3 or fewer decimal places, then input the exact answer.
Convert 12 yd to m
Answer: 10.909
If your calculator answer is more than 3 decimal places, then round your answer to 3 decimal places.
As usual, do not insert any commas in numbers. That is, input 5280 not 5,280.