Name______Period ______
Conversion & Graphing FUN!!!
Metric Conversions
Since the metric system if based on a power of 10, converting within the metric system is easily done by just moving the decimal point to the left or the right. No difficult math involved!
There are several base units (meter, liter, gram, second, etc.) of measurement that scientists use. These units can be changed by altering the prefix that will go in front of the base unit. To convert within the metric system, we use the STEP method. The main metric prefixes are listed below:
KILO- HECTO- DEKA- BASE DECI- CENTI- MILLI-
1000 100 10 UNIT 1/10 1/100 1/1000
When changing from a larger unit to a smaller unit (left to right), the decimal is moved to the right.
EX: 4.45 km = ______meters = ______cm
When changing from a smaller unit to a larger unit (right to left), the decimal is moved to the left.
EX: 23,400 mg = ______grams = ______kg
English/Metric Conversions
These types of conversions require a little math. In order to be successful, you must know the necessary conversion factor. It is usually given to you. For example: 1 mile = 1.609 km or 1 kg = 2.2 pounds or 1 minute = 60 seconds. We will use the FACTOR/LABEL method in order to calculate these conversions. BIGGEST PIECE OF ADVICE: ALWAYS WRITE AND CARRY EVERY UNIT on EACH #!!
EX: 456 km = ______miles
EX: 67 lbs = ______kg
EX: 899 miles = ______km
EX: 45 kg = ______lbs
Practice!
Now it’s your turn to do some practice. The following problems may contain only metric to metric conversions, English to Metric conversions, or both! YAY, so exciting!! Let’s get started!! YOU MUST SHOW YOUR WORK AND ALL UNITS as you solve the problems!!!!!!!! (Use another sheet of paper if you need it!)
1. Susan ran 2500 meters. How many kilometers did she run?
2. Ryan drives his car on a trip and goes 4,000 km. How many miles did he travel? (1 mile = 1.609 km)
3. Katie drinks 2 liters of water throughout the day. How many milliliters is this?
4. Kate and William’s wedding cost about 21,000,000 English pounds. How much is this in American dollars if
$1 = 0.6 pounds. (This is money, not weight)
5. Jimmy buys 6 lbs of potatoes from the store. How many grams of potatoes is this if 1kg = 2.2lbs? (Convert the lbs to kg using the factor-label method, then convert the kg to grams)
6. A Grande drink from Starbucks is 16 ounces. How many liters is this if 1 ml = 0.034 oz. (Convert ounces to milliliters, then milliliters to liters)
7. Gas right now is $4.15 per gallon!! AH!!! How much will it cost to fill the tank of my car that holds about 9 gallons?
8. MULTIPLE STEPS!! A plane flying from Dallas to Columbus flies at a speed of 350 miles per hour. If the trip takes 10,800 seconds, what is the total length of the trip in kilometers? (Conversion Factors needed:
60 sec = 1 min, 60 min = 1 hour, 1 mile = 1.609 km) Use your velocity formula as well!!
9. What is the velocity of a car in meters per second that travels 556 km in 5 hours?
10. What is the speed of the car in miles per hour for # 9? (1 mile = 1.609 km)
Graphing
We are going to be dealing with line graphs for the rest of the year. As a review, we always place our independent variable on the x-axis (horizontal). This is the variable that we the experimenter controls and changes. We also called it the manipulated variable at the beginning of the year. Our dependent variable on the y-axis (vertical) and is the variable that changes in response to the independent variable. We also called the dependent variable the responding variable at the beginning of the year.
Your Graph must always have the following things to get FULL CREDIT: title, both x & y axis labeled with units, and a constant scale along each axis.
The SLOPE of the line can be very helpful. In what we are doing right now the slope can tell us either speed or velocity depending on what type of line graph it is. The SLOPE is the steepness of the line or rise/run. So if you graph position or distance from the start (meters) on the y-axis and time on the x-axis (seconds), your slope is meters/second which in this case is VELOCITY!!
Slope = Change in Y = y2-y1
Change in X x2-x1
In the previous example if your slope is negative, that means your velocity is negative. If your slope is positive, that means your velocity is positive. If we just graph total distance versus time, our slope tells us speed and will never be negative.
Practice: A car is driving on a straight path. A person measure the car’s position from the starting line at the following times. Make a graph of the data on graph paper and answer the questions on the back of this sheet. Make sure your graph has ALL the required parts!! YAY for graphing Fun!!
Time (seconds) / Distance from Start (meters)0 / 0
10 / 5
20 / 10
30 / 15
40 / 20
50 / 20
60 / 20
70 / 30
80 / 40
90 / 50
100 / 50
110 / 50
120 / 45
130 / 40
140 / 35
150 / 30
160 / 25
170 / 40
180 / 55
190 / 70
200 / 85
Questions: Answer the following questions and SHOW ALL WORK and ANY UNITS!!!
1. In general, what does a constant, straight slope on this graph mean about the car?
2. What is the slope of the line between 0 and 40 seconds?
3. What does the slope in #2 tell you about the motion of the car during this time frame?
4. What is the car doing between 40 and 60 seconds and again between 90 and 110 seconds?
5. What is the car’s velocity between 60 and 90 seconds?
6. What is the slope of the line between 110 and 160 seconds?
7. What does the slope in #6 tell you about the motion of the car? That is, describe what the car did between 110 and 160 seconds.
8. What did the car do exactly at 160 seconds?
9. Look at your graph and think about a real car. How is this graph and data unrealistic in terms of a real car?