Page 112 - Math Smart - 7

Converting measurements

In the example where you had to choose a laptop bag that was big enough for
your laptop, some dimensions were given in millimetres and some were given in
centimetres. In order to compare the dimensions, you needed to convert all units
to the same unit of measure.
Converting larger units into smaller units

This is the laptop bag that suited the dimensions of your laptop. The dimensions
of the laptop bag are 32 cm and 47 cm. How can you convert these dimensions to
millimetres?
Look at your ruler. There are 10 mm in 1 cm.

centimetres

47 cm

millimetres
Since 1 cm = 10 mm, we
centimetre
multiply by 10 to convert
X 10
32 cm centimetres to millimetres.
millimetre

How many millimetres are there in 35 cm?
35 cm X 10 = 350 mm
How many millimetres are there in 24 cm?
24 cm X 10 = 240 mm
German mathematician
Carl Friedrich Gauss
Converting smaller units into larger units
(1777 - 1855), placed the
'second' as a base unit.
This is the laptop that you needed to find a suitable laptop bag for. The
He used this to describe
dimensions of the laptop are 378 mm and 260 mm. How can you convert these
the Earth's magnetic field
dimensions to centimetres?
in terms of millimetres,
grams, and seconds.
There are 10 mm in 1 cm.
Using these units in his
calculations, allowed him Since 1 cm = 10 mm, we divide by 10 to
260 mm
to give dimensions based
convert millimetres to centimetres.
on mass, length
centimetre
and time to the
magnetic field millimetre3* 10
I of the Earth.

378 mm

How many centimetres are there in 378 mm?
378 mm -7 10 = 37.8 cm
How many centimetres are there in 260 mm?
260 mm 10 = 26 cm

UNIT5 I Measurement