7 MEASURE

In 1999, NASA spent $125 million on a space probe designed to orbit Mars. The mission
ended in disaster after the probe steered too close to Mars and burned up whilst skimming
the planet’s thin atmosphere. Apparently, navigation commands to the probe’s engines
were provided in imperial rather then metric units even though NASA had been using
metric units since at least 1990.

Objectives Before you start

In this chapter you will: You need to:

look at both the metric and imperial
measurement systems and learn how to convert
units between and within these systems
consider compound measures and solve
problems involving average speed and density.
know how to measure and draw lines to the
nearest mm
be able to make sensible estimates for a
range of measures
know that measurements given to the nearest
whole unit may be inaccurate by up to one
half in either direction
know metric and imperial units of length,
mass and volume and have an idea of their
relative sizes.

105
 Chapter 7 Measure

7.1 Converting between units of measure

Objectives Why do this?

You know the relationship between metric units It is important to be able to change from one
and are able to convert between units in the unit to another when you are cooking as some
metric system. measurements may be given in grams and some in
You know the approximate metric equivalents of kilograms.
imperial units and are able to convert between
metric units and imperial units.
You are able to convert between units in
the imperial system when you are given the
relationship between the imperial units.

Get Ready

1. The following sentences do not make sense because the wrong unit has been used.
Rewrite each sentence using the correct unit.
a The weight of a packet of biscuits is 150 kg. b The thickness of a book is 3 m.
c The height of a giraffe is 5 km. d A teacup can hold 300 l of tea.

Key Points
To convert from one metric unit to another metric unit it is necessary to know the following facts.

Length Weight Capacity/Volume

10 mm  1 cm 1000 mg  1 g 100 cl  1 litre
100 cm  1 m 1000 g  1 kg 1000 ml  1 litre
1000 mm  1 m 1000 kg  1 tonne 1000 cm³  1 litre
1000 m  1 km 1000 l  1 m³

You then only need to multiply or divide by 10, 100 or 1000 in order to convert between the different metric units.
When you convert from a smaller unit to a larger unit, you need to divide.
When you convert from a larger unit to a smaller unit, you need to multiply.
For example, for lengths: Watch Out!
divide by 10 divide by 100 divide by 1000
The values in the table are not exact
mm cm m km but they are the rough equivalents
that need to be used in examinations.
multiply by 10 multiply by 100 multiply by 1000

To convert between a metric unit and an imperial

Metric unit Imperial unit
unit it is necessary to know the facts in this table.
1 kg 2.2 pounds
1 litre (l) 1_34 pints  1.75 pints
4.5 l 1 gallon
8 km 5 miles
30 cm 1 foot
2.54 cm 1 inch

106 convert
 7.1 Converting between units of measure

Example 1 a Convert 12 m into centimetres.

b Convert 2670 g into kilograms.

Centimetres are smaller than

a 12 m  12  100 cm  1200 cm metres so there are more of them.
As 100 cm  1 m, multiply by 100.

Kilograms are larger than grams so

b 2670 g  2760  1000  2.76 kg there are fewer of them.
As 1000 g  1 kg, divide by 1000.

Exercise 7A Questions in this chapter are targeted at the grades indicated.

1 Convert these lengths to centimetres.

a 6m b 210 mm c 5.1 m d 0.84 m
e 59 mm f 483 mm g 3 km h 0.067 km

2 Convert these weights to kilograms.

a 3 tonnes b 8.2 tonnes c 6000 g d 900 g
e 430 g f 4700 g

3 Convert these volumes to litres.

a 2000 ml b 700 cl c 5900 ml d 45 000 ml

4 A bottle of lemonade contains 70 cl.

How many litres of lemonade are there in 10 of these bottles?

Example 2 a Convert 8 gallons into litres. b Convert 28 km into miles.

a 8 gallons  8  4.5 litres  36 litres There are more litres than gallons so multiply.

b 8 km  5 miles
1 km  5  8 miles There are fewer miles than km as a mile is longer than a km.
28 km  28  5  8 miles Find 1 km.
Multiply and then divide.
 140  8  17.5 miles

107
 Chapter 7 Measure

Exercise 7B

1 Convert 4 kg to pounds. 2 Convert 110 pounds to kilograms.

3 Convert 7 pints to litres. 4 Convert 36 litres to gallons.

5 Convert 10 litres to pints. 6 Convert 12 feet to centimetres.

7 Convert 96 km to miles. 8 Convert 60 miles to kilometres.

A02
9 The price of petrol is 130p per litre.
A03 Work out the price of the petrol per gallon.

Example 3 There are 12 inches in a foot.

a Convert 7 feet into inches.
b Convert 108 inches into feet.

A foot is longer than

a 7 feet  7  12  84 inches
an inch so there are
more inches than feet.
So to change from feet
to inches you multiply.
b 108 inches  108 12  9 feet
Examiner’s Tip
When converting between
imperial units you will not
be expected to know the
relationship between the units
as the conversions will be given.

To convert from inches to feet you divide.

Exercise 7C

1 There are 16 ounces in a pound.

a Convert 5 pounds to ounces. b Convert 96 ounces to pounds.

2 There are 12 inches in a foot and 3 feet in a yard.

A02
Work out the number of inches in 5 yards.

3 There are 14 pounds in a stone. John’s weight is 9 stones and 6 pounds.

A02
a Work out John’s weight in pounds. b Work out John’s weight in kilograms.

108
 7.2 Compound measures

7.2 Compound measures

Objective Why do this?

You can solve problems with Compound measures are used when we want to see how a quantity
compound measures, giving the changes in relation to another quantity, such as by how much the
correct units. temperature of water increases each second when heated.

Get Ready

1. How many minutes are there in 1 hour?

2. What fraction of an hour is 15 minutes?
3. What fraction of an hour is 36 minutes? Give your answer as a decimal.
4. How many minutes is 0.3 hours?
5. Write 5.7 hours in hours and minutes.
6. Write 462 minutes in hours and minutes.

Key Points
A compound measure is a measure which involves two units such as km per hour, litres per second or grams
per cm³. Compound measures are often a measure of a rate of change.
For example, a tank is filled with 3000 litres of water in 20 minutes. When the rate of filling is constant, this rate
means that in 1 minute, 3000  20  150 litres of water would be added to the tank. If the rate is not constant, the
average rate of filling the tank is 150 litres in 1 minute.
In a compound unit, the word ‘per’ means ‘each’ or ‘for every’. So, the rate of filling the tank is 150 litres per
minute or 150 litres/minute. The ‘/’ is like a division sign showing that the rate is the amount of water divided by
the time taken.

Example 4 Petrol is leaking from a tank at a rate of 5 litres/hour.

a Work out how much petrol leaks from the tank in i 30 minutes; ii 4 hours.
Initially there are 100 litres of petrol in the tank.
b Work out how long it takes for all this petrol to
leak from the tank.
Examiner’s Tip
5 litres/hour means in 1 hour 5 litres
a i 30 minutes  __
1
2
hour of petrol leak from the tank. The units of a compound
measure will tell you what to
Amount of petrol  5  __12  2.5 litres. Amount  rate  time do, so km/l will mean
ii Amount of petrol  5  4  20 litres. distance  volume.
b Time taken  100  5  20 hours. Time  amount  rate

Exercise 7D

1 A car travels 260 km and uses 20 litres of petrol. C

AO3
a Work out the average rate of petrol usage. Give your answer in km/litre.
b Estimate the amount of petrol that would be used when the car has travelled 78 km.

compound measure rate of change 109

 Chapter 7 Measure

C 2 A line is turning at a rate of 12° per second.

AO2
a Work out how many degrees the line turns through in 20 seconds.
b How long does it take for the line to make one complete turn?

AO2 3 Water is flowing into a tank. In 5 minutes, 300 litres of water flows in.
AO3
a Work out the average rate of flow of water into the tank. Give the units of your answer.
b There were 90 litres of water in the tank immediately before the water started to flow in. When full,
the tank holds 1200 litres of water. How long will it take for the tank to fill with water? Give your
answer in minutes and seconds.

AO3
4 On a long journey, a car travels 16 km per litre of petrol. Work out how many litres of petrol the car uses
per kilometre.

7.3 Speed
Objective Why do this?

You can solve problems with average speed. Speed is a compound measure that we use all the
time, from speed limits for cars, to world record
breaking running speeds.

Get Ready

1. Work out the average rate of petrol usage if a car travels:

a 252 km and uses 14 litres of petrol b 156 km and uses 24 litres of petrol
c 84.48 km and uses 6.4 litres of petrol.

Key Points
Speed is a compound measure because it involves a unit of length and a unit of time, for example kilometres
per hour, miles per hour or metres per second. We write kilometres per hour as km/h; the ‘/’ is a sort of
division sign showing that speed is distance divided by time.
total distance travelled
Average speed  ___________________
total time taken
If the car travels at an average speed of 30 km/h, the car travels 30 km in 1 hour
30  2  60 km in 2 hours
30  3  90 km in 3 hours
and so on.
Distance  average speed  time
The time the car takes to travel 90 km at 30 km/h is __
90
3
 3 hours.
distance
Therefore: time  _____________
average speed
The following diagram is a useful way to remember these results: D stands for distance, S stands for average
speed and T stands for time.
DST
D D
S  __
T
S T D
T  __
S

110 average speed

 7.3 Speed

Example 5 The distance from Cardiff to Leeds is 335 km. Rhys drives from Cardiff to Leeds in
6 hours 15 minutes. Work out his average speed for this journey.

total distance travelled

Average speed  ____________________
Time taken  6.25 hours total time taken
Time must be in hours. Watch Out!

It is important to be careful
Average speed  ____
335
15 minutes  ___
15
 0.25 hours with time; it is best to use
6.25 60
The distance is in km and the time is decimals and remember
in hours so the speed is in km/h. that there are 60 minutes in
 53.6 km/h.
1 hour.

Example 6 Michael decides to go for a cycle ride. He rides a distance of 80 km at an average speed
of 24 km/h. Work out how long Michael’s ride takes.

Time  __
80
 3.3333… h distance
Time  ____________
24 average speed
Speed is in km/h and distance is in km so the time is in hours.

0.3333…  60  20 3.3333… h  3 h  0.3333… h

To change from hours to minutes, multiply by 60.
Time  3 h 20 minutes

Exercise 7E

1 Paul takes part in a sponsored hike. He walks 18 km in 4_14 hours. What is his average speed? D
Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures.

2 Tim left his home at 11 am and went for a 20 km run. He arrived back at his home at 1 pm. Work out Tim’s C
average speed.

3 A horse runs 12 km at an average speed of 10 km/h. How long, in hours and minutes, does this take?

4 Change a speed of 85 m/s into km/h. AO3

5 In the 2008 Olympics, the men’s 100 m race was won in a time of 9.69 s and the men’s 200 m race was AO2
AO3
won in a time of 19.30 s. Which race was won with the faster average speed? You must give a reason
for your answer.

111
 Chapter 7 Measure

7.4 Density
Objective Why do this?

You can solve problems with density. A submarine’s ability to submerge and surface
depends on its total density. It changes this by
adjusting the amount of water in its ballast tanks.

Get Ready

1. Work out these calculations, giving your answers to one decimal place.
a 50  6 b 4  0.3 c 400  15.4 d 347.1  27

Key Points
Density is also a compound measure. To solve density-related problems, we can use the following equations:
mass
density  ________
volume
mass  density  volume
mass
volume  ________
density
The diagram below is a useful way to remember these equations: M stands for mass, D stands for density and V
stands for volume.

MDV
M M
D  __
V
D V M
V  __
D

When the mass is measured in kilograms and the volume in cubic metres or m³, then density is measured in kg
per m³ or kg/m³. Density can also be measured in g/cm³.

Example 7 A piece of silver has a mass of 42 g and a volume of 4 cm³. Work out the density of silver.

Density  __
42 mass
Density  ______
4 volume
 10.5 g/cm³ Divide the mass by the volume. Examiner’s Tip
As the mass is in g and the volume
is in cm³, the density is in g/cm³.
Usually in GCSE mathematics
the term weight is used as it is
easier to understand. However
in problems involving density,
the correct term, mass, is used.

112 density mass volume

 Chapter review

Example 8 The density of steel is 7700 kg/m³.

a A steel bar has a volume of 2.5 m³. Work out the mass of the bar.
b A block of steel has a mass of 1540 kg. Work out the volume of the block.

a Mass  7700  2.5 Mass  density  volume

Multiply the density by the volume.

 19 250 kg As the density is in kg/m³ and the volume is in m³, the mass is in kg.

1540
b Volume  ______
mass
Volume  _______
7700 density
Divide the mass by the density.

 0.2 m³ As the mass is in kg and the density is in kg/m³ the volume is in m³.

Exercise 7F

1 A slab of concrete has a volume of 60 cm³ and a mass of 150 g. Work out the density of the concrete. C

2 Gold has a density of 19.3 g/cm³. The gold in a ring has a mass of 15 g. Work out the volume of gold in
the ring.

3 14.7 g of sulphur has a volume of 7.5 cm³. Work out the density of sulphur.

4 The density of aluminium is 2590 kg/m³. The density of lead is 11 400 kg/m³. AO2 B
A block of aluminium has a volume of 0.5 m³. A block of lead has a volume of 0.1 m³. AO3

Which of the two blocks has the greater mass and by how many kilograms?

Chapter review
To convert from one metric unit to another metric unit it is necessary to know the following facts.

Length Weight Capacity/Volume

10 mm  1 cm 1000 mg  1 g 100 cl  1 litre
100 cm  1 m 1000 g  1 kg 1000 ml  1 litre
1000 mm  1 m 1000 kg  1 tonne 1000 cm³  1 litre
1000 m  1 km 1000 l  1 m³

You then only need to multiply or divide by 10, 100 or 1000 in order to convert between the different metric units.
When you convert from a smaller unit to a larger unit, you need to divide.
When you convert from a larger unit to a smaller unit, you need to multiply.

113
 Chapter 7 Measure

To convert between a metric unit and an imperial unit it is necessary to know the facts in the following table.
Metric unit Imperial unit
1 kg 2.2 pounds
1 litre (l) 1_34 pints  1.75 pints
4.5 l 1 gallon
8 km 5 miles
30 cm 1 foot
2.54 cm 1 inch

A compound measure is a measure which involves two units such as km per hour, litres per second or grams
per cm³. Compound measures are often a measure of a rate of change.
In a compound unit, the word ‘per’ means ‘each’ or ‘for every’. We write litres per minute as litres/minute; the ‘/’
is like a division sign showing that the rate is the amount of liquid divided by the time taken.
Speed is a compound measure because it involves a unit of length and a unit of time, for example kilometres per
hour, miles per hour or metres per second.
The following diagram is a useful way to remember the relationships between speed, distance and time: D
stands for distance, S stands for average speed and T stands for time.
DST
D D
S  __
T
S T D
T  __
S

Density is also a compound measure. The following diagram is a useful way to remember the relationships
between mass, density and volume: M stands for mass, D stands for density and V stands for volume.
MDV
M M
D  ___
V
M
V  ___
D V D

When the mass is measured in kilograms and the volume in cubic metres or m³, then density is measured in kg
per m³ or kg/m³. Density can also be measured in g/cm³.

Review exercise

1 a Complete the table by writing a sensible metric unit for each measurement.
The length of the river Nile 6700 kilometres
The height of the world’s tallest tree 110 .................................................
The weight of a chicken’s egg 70 ..................................................
The amount of petrol in a full petrol tank of a car 40 ..................................................
b Convert 4 metres to centimetres.
c Convert 1500 grams to kilograms. June 2008

114
 Chapter review

2 Shalim says 1.5 km is less than 1400 m.

A03
Is he right?
Explain your answer. June 2007

3 Stuart drives 180 km in 2 hours 15 minutes. C

Work out Stuart’s average speed. Nov 2008

4 The distance from London to New York is 3456 miles.

A plane takes 8 hours to fly from London to New York.
Work out the average speed of the plane. June 2008

5 John travelled 30 km in 1.5 hours.

Kamala travelled 42 km in 2 hours.
Who had the greater average speed?
You must show your working. June 2009

6 There are 40 litres of water in a barrel.

The water flows out of the barrel at a rate of 125 millilitres per second.
1 litre  1000 millilitres
Work out the time it takes for the barrel to empty completely. June 2009

7 The density of juice is 4 grams per cm3.

The density of water is 1 gram per cm3.
315 cm3 of drink is made by mixing 15 cm3 Exam Question Report
of juice with 300 cm3 of water.
Work out the density of the drink.
86% of students answered this question poorly
because they could not remember the formula for
calculating density.

June 2009

8 The volume of a gold bar is 100 cm3.

The density of gold is 19.3 grams per cm3.
Work out the mass of the gold bar. Nov 2008

115