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Measurements are based on patterns that never change their value. These standards have been internationally agreed upon and their use facilitates conversion between the different measures. Therefore, as a conversion factor, the basic units of measurement agreed according to the International System of Units are used. Some of them are:
- Meter: to measure the length.
- Kilogram: for the mass.
- Second: for time.
- Mol: to measure the amount of a substance.
- Ampere: for the intensity of an electric current.
- Kelvin: for temperature.
- Candela: for the intensity of light.
Metric system
Within the International of Units is the metric system, which is the most used in the world. Includes the units of measure meter and kilogram, as well as their multiples.
Anglo-Saxon system of measurements
This system is used mainly in the United States, Liberia and Burma. Some of the units of measurement of this system are miles, yards, feet, inches, leagues, ounces, pounds, among others.
What is a conversion factor and what is it for?
The conversion factor is a method that helps us express a measurement in different ways. That is, it allows us to know how much a measure is equivalent to. This is very useful in everyday life because there are countries that use different units of measurement for length, mass, or volume. In addition, conversion factors are useful for measuring solid or liquid elements or in different states: for example, how many kilos is equal to a liter of water, or the equivalence between two different measurement systems such as how many kilometers are equal to a mile .
Examples of Conversion Factors
To convert one measurement to another, the following equivalences can be used as conversion factors:
Lenght measures:
- 1 inch ( in or inch ) = 2.54 cm (length)
- 1 foot ( ft or feet ) = 12 in = 30.48 cm (length)
- 1 yard ( yd or yard ) = 91.44 cm (length)
- 1 mile ( mi or mile ) = 1.609347 km (length)
- 1 league = 3 mi = 4.828032 km (length)
volume measurements
- 1 gallon = 3.78541 liters
- 1 liter = 1000 milliliters
mass measurements
- 1 pound = 16 ounces
- 1 kilogram = 1,000 grams
- 1 pound = 453.592 grams
time measures
- 1 minute = 60 seconds
- 1 hour = 60 minutes
- 1 day = 24 hours
area measurements
- 1 square meter = 100 square centimeters
- 1 square mile = 2.58999 square kilometers
How to use a conversion factor
To convert a measure of time from days to hours, we must use a conversion factor, which in this case would be 1 day = 24 hours. That is, the equivalence of time in days and time in hours: 1 day = 24 hours. This is the conversion factor that we will use to find out how many hours equals so many days. For example, if we want to know how many hours are equal to 2 days, we must multiply 24 x 2. As a result, we get that 2 days are equal to 48 hours.
Likewise, if a 1 foot is 12 inches long, this indicates that the conversion factor from 1 foot to inches is 12. Therefore, to find out how many inches 5 feet is equal to, we must multiply 5 x 12. That is , 5 feet equals 60 inches.
To convert 10 feet to meters, you must multiply 10 x 0.3048, since 1 foot equals 0.3048 meters.
In the same way, using conversion factors, all measurements can be converted to the desired measurement.
Bibliography
- Dylar Editions. Basic Mathematics – 16 Measurements: units of length, capacity and mass . (2010). Spain. Dylar Editions.
- Fernandez Ferrer, J.; Pujal Carrera, M. Introduction to physics. (2009). Spain. Editorial Reverté.
