Unit Conversion Lab



Measuring and Unit Conversion Lab

Units are specific quantities (amounts) used for measuring. You could grab a stick from outside and measure a table in number of sticks. But if each of us grab a stick from outside each stick is likely to be a different length, so we use standard units to measure things. A meter stick is a standard unit of about 3 feet and three inches and every meter stick is the same length. If we all measure a table with meter sticks we should get the same number of meter sticks in length. Scientists use the International System (SI) of standard measurements. Why do we abbreviate International System as SI? It comes from the French, who invented the metric system and SI, and the words are reversed in the French language. The meter and other metric units (based on the number 10) are one small part of SI. Many Americans remain unfamiliar with the metric system because, unlike most countries, we are one of only a small handful of countries that still use the British/ Imperial units of measurement on a daily basis. Some examples of metric units (part of the larger set of SI units!) are liters (l), meters (m), centimeters (cm) and millimeters (mm). Some examples of British/ Imperial are: gallons (gal), pounds (lbs), inches (in) and feet (ft). In this lab we will measure some common everyday items in SI and British/ Imperial non-SI units.

a. Write three metric units (part of SI):

b. Write three non-metric British (also called Imperial units):

1. How tall are you? Go to the wall and measure yourself in inches with a partner (add 36 to the number you read!) and the measuring stick taped to the wall. Write how tall you are in inches here: _____________

Now use the other measuring stick to measure yourself in centimeters (add 100 to the number you read!). How tall are you in centimeters? Write it here: _______________

2. If you know a measurement in one unit (inches, for example), you can convert that measurement to another unit by multiplying it by a conversion number. Conversion numbers are constants (numbers that don’t change). Use the conversion number 2.54 to multiply your measured height in inches from above to find your height in centimeters.

Your height in inches ________ x 2.54 = __________ this answer should match what you measured in centimeters!

3. Have a partner measure how far you walk in three steps. Mark off where you begin, walk three steps and then stop and measure the distance in centimeters. Write the distance here: _________.

How many meters is it? (Divide by 100)___________.

Now convert your answer in cm. to inches by multiplying by the conversion number 0.39. Write your answer here: ___________

4. How long is the computer cable in cm? ____________

Convert this answer to meters by dividing your answer by 100.

Write your answer here: _____________

5. Now go to the scale and weigh the bolt. How many grams does it weigh? _______

Convert your answers to ounces by multiplying by 0.03 Write your answer here: _____

Put the bolt back on the table and set the scale back to zero!

6. How much water is in the glass? Pour the water carefully into the graduate cylinder and measure it in milliliters (ml). Write your answer: _____________ (carefully pour the water back into the cup when you are done!)

7. How much water is in the flask? Write your answer: ________________

8. What is the temperature of the water in the beaker in Celsius? _________

9. What is the temperature of the air in the beaker in Celsius? ___________

We can convert units in SI to other units in SI or in British/ Imperial by multiplying by a specific conversion number. Metric units can be easily converted between other similar metric units by multiplying or dividing by a multiple of 10 which makes it very easy to do the conversion without a calculator.

Now do these problems!

1. What is your weight in pounds? _______(you may guess or make it up if you don’t know) Convert it to kilograms (kg) by multiplying by 0.45 Write your answer: ________

2. Convert 100 meters (m) to kilometers (km) by dividing by 1000. ___________

3. Convert 10,000 milliliters (ml) to liters (l) by dividing by 1000. ___________

4. Convert 350 kilograms (kg) to grams (g) by multiplying by 1000. __________

5. Convert 5,600 centimeters (cm) to meters (m) by dividing by 100. __________

6. Convert 10 gallons (gal) to liters (l) by multiplying by 3.78. ____________

8. Convert 5 inches (in) to millimeters (mm) by multiplying by 25.4. ____________

7. The metric system is based on the number _____ (fill in a specific number)

8. When converting between SI and other non- standard you multiply by a conversion _________________ (fill in the blank with a word).

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