FUNDAMENTALS OF MATHEMATICS

MODULE 5 MEASUREMENTS AND CONVERSIONS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this module, the students will be able to:

1. Discuss conversion
2. Solve for measurement and conversion
3. Discuss rounding of numbers
4. Interpret order of operations
5. Simplify problems
INTRODUCTION

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
find the area of a triangle, if a base is given in cm, and height is given in meter, and you
are asked to find the area of a triangle in cm, it is necessary to convert the height in meters
into centimetres. Therefore, it is necessary to learn the conversion of units, to convert a
unit into the required unit. Measurement is a process of finding a number that shows the
amount of something.

LESSON

CONVERSION
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 specific unit. By definition, a unit is a magnitude of a physical quantity.
There are two systems of units:

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1. SI units (International System of Units)
2. Metric system

For example, SI unit of length is a meter (m), while metric units are kilometer (km), meter (m),
decimeter (dm), centimeter (cm) and millimeter (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 case one
have 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 table for conversion of length is:

The table for length conversion is given in the figure above. The relation between the
adjacent unit varies by the multiple of 10 (moving left to right) and vice-versa (i.e. moving right to
left).

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

for Mass Conversion

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MATHEMATICS
Similarly, we have mass conversion table which is as follows:

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 that means we need 1000 meters to make up one
kilometre. This makes kilometre a bigger unit than a meter. This is same for 1 kg = 1000g.
Conversion of units can be done in a few steps.
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

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MATHEMATICS
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
1
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

MEASUREMENT

There are two major systems of measurement in use today. They are the United States
system and the metric system. Before we describe these systems, let's gain a clear
understanding of the concept of measurement.

Measurement is comparison to some standard.

Standard Unit of Measure

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MATHEMATICS
The concept of measurement is based on the idea of direct comparison. This means that
measurement is the result of the comparison of two quantities. The quantity that is used for
comparison is called the standard unit of measure.

Over the years, standards have changed. Quite some time in the past, the standard unit
of measure was determined by a king. For example,

1 inch was the distance between the tip of the thumb and the knuckle of the king.
1 inch was also the length of 16 barley grains placed end to end.

Today, standard units of measure rarely change. Standard units of measure are the
responsibility of the Bureau of Standards in Washington D.C.

Some desirable properties of a standard are the following:

1. Accessibility. We should have access to the standard so we can make comparisons.

2. Invariance. We should be confident that the standard is not subject to change.
3. Reproducibility. We should be able to reproduce the standard so that measurements are
convenient and accessible to many people.

The United States System of Measurement

Some of the common units (along with their abbreviations) for the United States system of
measurement are listed in the following table.

Unit Conversion Table

1 foot (ft) = 12 inches (in.)

Length 1 yard (yd) = 3 feet (ft)
1 mile (mi) = 5,280 feet

1 pound (lb) =16 ounces (oz)

Weight
1 ton (T) = 2,000 pounds

1 tablespoon (tbsp) = 3 teaspoons (tsp)

1 fluid ounce (fl oz) = 2 tablespoons
1 cup (c) = 8 fluid ounces
Liquid Volume
1 pint (pt) = 2 cups
1 quart (qt) = 2 pints
1 gallon (gal) = 4 quarts

Time 1 minute (min) = 60 seconds (sec)

1 hour ( hr) = 60 minutes
1 day (da) = 24 hours

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MATHEMATICS
1 week (wk) = 7 days

Conversions in the United States System

It is often convenient or necessary to convert from one unit of measure to another. For
example, it may be convenient to convert a measurement of length that is given in feet to one
that is given in inches. Such conversions can be made using unit fractions.

Unit Fraction

A unit fraction is a fraction with a value of 1.

Unit fractions are formed by using two equal measurements. One measurement is
placed in the numerator of the fraction, and the other in the denominator. Placement depends
on the desired conversion.

Placement of Units

Place the unit being converted to in the numerator.

Place the unit being converted from in the denominator.

For example,

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MATHEMATICS

Sample Set A
Make the following conversions. If a fraction occurs, convert it to a decimal
rounded to two decimal places.

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MATHEMATICS

The Advantages of the Base Ten Number System

The metric system of measurement takes advantage of our base ten number sys-
tem. The advantage of the metric system over the United States system is that
in the metric system it is possible to convert from one unit of measure to another
simply by multiplying or dividing the given number by a power of 10. This means
we can make a conversion simply by moving the decimal point to the right or the
left.

Conversion from One Unit to Another Unit

Let's note three characteristics of the metric system that occur in the metric
table of measurements.

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MATHEMATICS
1. In each category, the prefixes are the same.
2. We can move from a larger to a smaller unit of measure by moving the
decimal point to the right.
3. We can move from a smaller to a larger unit of measure by moving the
decimal point to the left.

The following table provides a summary of the relationship between the basic
unit of measure (meter, gram, liter) and each prefix, and how many places the
decimal point is moved and in what direction.

kilo hecto deka unit deci centi milli

Basic Unit to Prefix Move the Decimal Point

unit to deka 1 to 10 1 place to the left

unit to hector 1 to 100 2 places to the left

unit to kilo 1 to 1,000 3 places to the left

unit to deci 1 to 0.1 1 place to the right

unit to centi 1 to 0.01 2 places to the right

unit to milli 1 to 0.001 3 places to the right

Conversion Table

Listed below, in the unit conversion table, are some of the common metric units
of measure.

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MATHEMATICS

Distinction Between Mass and Weight

There is a distinction between mass and weight. The weight of a body is
related to gravity whereas the mass of a body is not. For example, your weight
on the earth is different than it is on the moon, but your mass is the same in both
places. Mass is a measure of a body's resistance to motion. The more massive
a body, the more resistant it is to motion. Also, more massive bodies weigh more
than less massive bodies.

Converting Metric UnitsTo convert from one metric unit to another metric unit:

1. Determine the location of the original number on the metric scale

(pictured in each of the following examples).
2. Move the decimal point of the original number in the same direction and
same number of places as is necessary to move to the metric unit you
wish to go to.

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MATHEMATICS

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MATHEMATICS

EVALUATION

Name: _____________________________________ Score: __________ Rating: ________

Course Yr. & Sec. ____________________________ Date Submitted: __________________

MEASUREMENTS AND CONVERSIONS

Student Assessment Question
Direction. Answer the following as required. (5 points each)

Using your own words, discuss measurement and conversion.

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Briefly discuss the advantage of base ten number system.

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MATHEMATICS
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How would you apply the measurement and conversion in your life.
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Short Quiz:

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REFERENCES:
https://byjus.com/maths/conversion-of-units/
https://cnx.org/contents/XeVIW7Iw@4.6:l1jFhipm@2/Measurement-and-the-United-States-System

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