Measurement

There are many way to do conversions from one unit to another (like minutes to hours or feet to miles).

When problems are complicated, we like to use the "you can multiply anything by a fraction that equals 1" rule, to complete conversions.  The process is called dimensional analysis and you many have learned a strategy like this in chemistry. But, it's actually simpler than it sounds.

Before we explain more, let's give an example:

Although much of the world uses the metric measurement system, the United States uses U.S. Customary Measurements, which we often call the standard measurement system.

Conversions from unit to unit is fairly easy, using proportions. 

First, students need to memorize (or have reference to) the conversion ratios (below, find a link for a PDF conversion card that students can use for reference).

The Metric System is based on the number 10. All metric conversions involve multiplying or dividing by a power of 10.

Let's start with the base units.