Name _______________________
Class Period _____
Unit Conversion Activity (HS5.1.1.5, HS1.6.4, HS1.6.3)
How do we convert units from one set to an equivalent but perhaps more useful set? A method used
widely in all sciences is the “Factor-label” method, illustrated below.
Example: Convert 55 m/s to km/hr: 55 m 1 km 3600 s = 55 (3600) km = 198 km = 198 km/hr
s 1000 m 1 hr
1000 hr
hr
Example: Convert 1 m3 to cm3:
1 m3 (100cm)(100cm)(100cm) = 1,000,000 cm3 = 1x106 cm3
1 m3
Notes:
 The units are arranged so as to cancel out; ie, if “meters” is in the numerator, then it would be
placed in the denominator of the first conversion step.
 Each conversion step involves a numerator equal to what is in the denominator.
Convert the given unit combinations into the ones requested. Show your work for each conversion,
using the factor-label method illustrated above.
1. Convert 70 kg to ng
2. Convert 150 s to Ms
3. Convert 0.005 Gm to mm
4. Convert 1 year to seconds
5. Convert 450 km/hr to m/s
6. Convert 60mi/hr to m/s (1 mile = 1.609 km)
7. Convert 100 m/s to mi/hr
8. Convert 20 mi/gal to km/liter (1 gal = 3.8 liters)
Honors and AP do these also!:
9. Convert 250 mm2 to m2
10. Convert 1 km3 to m3
11. Convert 9.8 m/s2 to km / hr2
12. Convert 20 kg m/ s2 to g cm/ hr2