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Conversion of Units

In Mathematics, it is required to convert the units

while solving many problems. To carry out the
required calculations, mathematical conversions
are needed. For example, to >nd the area of a
triangle, if a base is given in cm, and height is
given in meter, and you are asked to >nd the area
of a triangle in cm, it is necessary to convert the
height in meters into centimetres. Therefore, it is
required to know the conversion of units to
convert a unit into the required unit.

What is Conversion of Units?

The use of a unit depends on the situation, such as
the area of a room is expressed in meters, but the
length of a pencil is expressed in centimetres and
its thickness in mm.

Thus, we need to convert one unit to another.

Before understanding the concept of conversion
of units, we need to understand the relationship
between units.

Length and Mass conversion

Mensuration is an ancient concept. Every physical
quantity, like length, mass, time, temperature etc.,
have a speci>c unit. By de>nition, a unit is a
magnitude of a physical quantity.

There are two systems of units:

1. SI units (International System of Units)

2. Metric system

For example, the SI unit of length is a metre (m),

while metric units are kilometre (km), meter (m),
decimetre (dm), centimetre (cm) and millimetre
(mm).

SI unit of mass is Kilograms (kg).

Importance of Mathematical
Conversions
In order to have accuracy and avoid confusion in
measurement, we need to convert one unit to
another. For instance, we do not measure the
length of a pencil in kilometres. In such a case,
one has to convert kilometre (km) to centimetre
(cm). Generally, the conversion of one unit to
another unit of the same quantity is performed
using multiplicative conversion factors. Let’s see
how to convert a different unit of length and mass.

Table for Length Conversion

The conversion of units related to length can be
represented as:

The length conversion is given in the >gure above.

The relation between the adjacent unit varies by
the multiple of 10 (moving left to the right) and
vice-versa (i.e. moving right to the left).

The table for conversion of length is:

Unit conversion for Length

1 millimeter 0.001 meter

1 centimeter 0.01 meter

1 decimeter 0.1 meter

1 decameter 10 meters

1 hectometer 100 meters

1 kilometer 1000 meters

1 inch 2.54 × 10−2 meters

1 foot 0.3048 meters

1 mile 1.609344 km

Example: Convert 2 mm to dam.

Solution: Given 2 mm length.

From the length conversion table, we see dam

is 4th position left to mm.

Thus, dividing the given length by 104.

2 mm = 2/104 dam

2 mm = 0.0002 dam

Table for Mass Conversion

The conversion of mass or weight can be done as
shown in the below >gure.

The below table helps to understand the

convection of units for mass.

Unit conversion for Mass

1 milligram 0.001 gram

1 centigram 0.01 gram

1 decigram 0.1 gram

1 decagram 10 gram

1 hectogram 100 gram

1 kilogram 1000 grams

Unit Conversion Table

Let’s have a look at some basic unit conversion of
mass and length.

Units of Length Units of Mass

1 km = 10 hm 1 kg = 10 hg

= 100 dam = 100 dag

= 1000 m = 1000 g

1m = 10 dm 1 g = 10 dg

= 100 cm = 100 cg

= 1000 mm = 1000 mg

1 dm = 10 cm 1 dg = 10 cg

= 100 mm = 100 mg

1 cm = 10 mm 1 cg = 10 mg

From the table above, we have seen values of units

of length are not the same, i.e. 1 km ≠ 1m. When 1
km is equal to 1000 m, we need 1000 meters to
make up one kilometre. This makes a kilometre a
bigger unit than a meter. This is same for 1 kg =
1000g. Conversion of units can be done in a few
steps.

In mathematics, we also come across time-related

problems, for example, simple and compound
interest, speed and distance, work, etc.

The below table shows the conversion of units for

time.

Conversion of Units for Time

1 minute 60 seconds

1 hour 60 minutes (or) 3600 seconds

1 day 24 hours

1 week 7 days

1 year 365 days

In geometry, we deal with many problems of

>nding the area and perimeter of shapes. In such
cases, one may need to convert the units of
measure of area. The below table helps in such
types of conversions.

Conversion of Units for Area

1 sq. inch 6.4516 x 10-4 square meter

1 sq. foot 9.2903 x 10-2 square meter

1 acre 4.0468 x 103 square meter

1 hectare 1 x 104 square meter

1 sq. mile 2.5888 x 106 square meter

Points to remember:

To convert bigger units to a smaller unit

multiply.
To convert a smaller unit to a bigger unit
divide.

Conversion of Units Solved

Examples
Example 1: Convert 2 cm to km.

Step 1: Draw a line or box as shown below,

km hm dam m dm cm mm

Step 2: Put 1 at the larger unit to be converted.

Here we want to convert cm to km,

Since km is the larger unit, thus put 1 under the

corresponding column (km).

km hm dam m dm cm mm

Step 3: Now put 0 till the smaller unit.

Here we want to convert cm to km, put 0 till the

corresponding smaller unit.

km hm dam m dm cm mm

1 0 0 0 0 0

We see the conversion is from a smaller to a

larger unit. Thus, we need to divide the given
length by 100000 (i.e. 105).

2cm = 2/105 km

2cm = 0.00002 km

Example 2: Convert 5 grams to milligrams.

Solution: We have to convert 5 grams to

milligrams.

We know, 1 g = 1000 mg

Thus, 5 g = 5 × 1000 = 5000 mg

To solve more problems on the topic, download

BYJU’S – The Learning App and watch interactive
videos. Also, take free tests to practice for exams.

Quiz on Conversion of
Units

Put your understanding

of this concept to test by
answering a few MCQs.
Click ‘Start Quiz’ to
begin!

Select the correct answer and click on

the “Finish” button
Check your score and answers at the
end of the quiz

Start Quiz

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