Learning Outcomes
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Make unit conversions in the U.S. system
- Use mixed units of measurement in the U.S. system
- Make unit conversions in the metric system
- Use mixed units of measurement in the metric system
- Convert between the U.S. and the metric systems of measurement
- Convert between Fahrenheit and Celsius temperatures
Before you get started in this module, try a few practice problems and review prior concepts.
readiness quiz
Before you get started, take this readiness quiz.
- Multiply: [latex]4.29\left(1000\right)[/latex].If you missed this problem, review [link].
- Simplify: [latex]\frac{30}{54}[/latex].If you missed this problem, review [link].
- Multiply: [latex]\frac{7}{15}\cdot \frac{25}{28}[/latex].If you missed this problem, review [link].
In this section we will see how to convert among different types of units, such as feet to miles or kilograms to pounds. The basic idea in all of the unit conversions will be to use a form of [latex]1[/latex], the multiplicative identity, to change the units but not the value of a quantity.
Most countries use the metric system, while to United States uses their own way of measuring. In the U.S., distances are measured in miles, so when traveling to a foreign country, we cannot always understand the kilometer measurements. Because you are traveling from the U.S., you want to be able to convert kilometers to miles so you will be able to better navigate for yourself. This chapter will focus on unit conversions from the U.S. system to the metric system, as well as Fahrenheit to Celsius.
