Honors Work Sheet
Unit Conversions, Significant Figures, Problem Solving
1.5 Unit Conversions*
53.
IE  (a) Which of the following represents the greatest speed: (1) 1 m s; (2) 1 km h ; (3) 1 ft s; or (4)
1 mi h ? (b) Express the speed 15.0 m s in mi h. (a) (1) 1 m s (b) 33.6 mi h
Fig 1.16
54.  An automobile speedometer is shown in Fig. 1.16. (a) What would be the equivalent scale readings
(for each empty box) in kilometers per hour? (b) What would be the 70-mi h speed limit in kilometers per
hour? (a) 16 km h for each 10 mi h (b) 1.1  10 km h
55.  A person weighs 170 lb. (a) What is her mass in kilograms? (b) Assuming the density of the average
human body is about that of water (which is true), estimate her body’s volume in both cubic meters and
liters. Explain why the smaller unit of the liter is more appropriate (convenient) for describing this size
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volume. (a) 77.3 kg (b) 0.0773 m or about 77.3 L
56.  If the components of the human circulatory system (arteries, veins, and capillaries) were completely
extended and placed end to end, the length would be on the order of 100000 km. Would the length of the
circulatory system reach around the circumference of the Moon? If so, how many times? yes, 9.1 times
57.  The human heartbeat, as determined by the pulse rate, is normally about 60 beats min. If the heart
pumps 75 mL of blood per beat, what volume of blood is pumped in one day in liters? 6.5  103 L day
58.  A typical wide receiver in American football can run the 40-yd dash in about 4.5 s starting from rest.
(a) What is his average speed in m s? (b) What is his average speed in mi h ? (a) 8.1 m s (b) 18 mi h
61.  A student was 18 in. long when she was born. She is now 5 ft 6 in. tall and 20 years old. How many
centimeters a year did she grow on average? 6.1 cm
62.  The density of metal mercury is 13.6 g cm3 . (a) What is this density as expressed in kilograms per
cubic meter? (b) How many kilograms of mercury would be required to fill a 0.250-L container? (a)
1.36  104 kg m (b) 3.40 kg
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1.6 Significant Figures
65.
MC Which of the following has the greatest number of significant figures: (a) 103.07; (b) 124.5; (c)
0.09916; or (d) 5.408  105 ?
66. MC Which of the following numbers has four significant figures: (a) 140.05; (b) 276.02; (c) 0.004006; or
(d) 0.073004?
67. MC In a multiplication and/or division operation involving the numbers 15437, 201.08, and 408.0  105 , the
result should have how many significant figures? (a) 3 (b) 4 (c) 5 (d) any number
68. CQ What is the purpose of significant figures? to provide an estimation of accuracy
70. CQ How are the number of significant figures determined for the results of calculations involving (a)
multiplication, (b) division, (c) addition, and (d) subtraction? see ISM
71.  Express the length 50500 m (micrometers) in centimeters, decimeters, and meters, to three significant
1
2
figures. 5.05 cm; 5.05  10 dm; 5.05  10 m
73.  Determine the number of significant figures in the following measured numbers: (a) 1.007 m; (b) 8.03
cm; (c) 16.272 kg; (d) 0.015 s (microseconds). (a) 4 (b) 3 (c) 5 (d) 2
74.  Express each of the numbers in Exercise 73 with two significant figures (a) 1.0 m (b) 8.0 cm (c) 16 kg
(d) 1.5  10  s
76.  The cover of your physics book measures 0.274 m long and 0.222 m wide. What is its area in square
meters? 6.08  102 m 2
79. IE  The outside dimensions of a cylindrical soda can are reported as 12.559 cm for the diameter and
5.62 cm for the height. (a) How many significant figures will the total outside area have: (1) two; (2) three;
(3) four; or (4) five? Why? (b) What is the total outside surface area of the can in cubic centimeters? (a)
2
2
(2) three (b) 469 cm
80.  Express the following calculations to the proper number of significant figures: (a) 12.634  2.1; (b)
2
(c)  (0.25 m) 2 ; (d) 2.37 3.5. (a) 14.7 (b) 11.4 (c) 0.20 m (d) 0.82
81. IE  In doing a problem, a student adds 46.9 m and 5.72 m and then subtracts 38 m from the result. (a)
How many decimal places will the final answer have: (1) zero; (2) one; or (3) two? Why? (b) What is the
final answer? (a) (1) zero (b) 15 m
13.5  2.134;
1.7 Problem Solving
MC An important step in problem solving before mathematically solving an equation is (a) checking units,
(b) checking significant figures, (c) checking with a friend, (d) checking to see if the result will be
reasonable. (a)
84. MC An important final step in problem solving before reporting an answer is (a) saving your calculations,
(b) reading the problem again, (c) seeing if the answer is reasonable, (d) checking your results with another
student. (c)
87. CQ What are the main steps in a problem-solving procedure? all six steps as listed in the chapter
88. CQ When you do order-of-magnitude calculations, should you be concerned about significant figures?
83.
Explain. no
90.  A corner construction lot has the shape of a right triangle. If the two sides perpendicular to each other
are 37 m long and 42.3 m long, respectively, what is the length of the hypotenuse? 56 m
91.  The lightest solid material is silica aerogel, which has a typical density of only about 0.10 g cm3 . The
molecular structure of silica aerogel is typically 95% empty space. What is the mass of 1 m 3 of silica
aerogel? 100 kg
93.  The thickness of the total of numbered pages of a textbook is measured to be 3.75 cm. (a) If the last
page of the book is numbered 860, what is the average thickness of a page? (b) Repeat the calculation by
3
2
using order-of-magnitude calculations. (a) 8.72  10 cm (b) about 10 cm
94. IE  To go to a football stadium from your house, you first drive 1000 m north, then 500 m west, and
finally 1500 m south. (a) Relative to your home, the football stadium is (1) north of west, (2) south of east,
(3) north of east, (4) south of west. (b) What is the straight-line distance from your house to the
stadium? (a) (4) south of west (b) 707 m
96.  Tony’s Pizza Palace sells a medium 9.0-in. (diameter) pizza for $7.95, and a large 12-in. pizza for
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$13.50. Which pizza is the better buy? 12-in. better buy; 9.0-in.: 8.0 in. $ , 12-in.: 8.4 in. $
103.  Approximately 118 mi wide and 307 mi long and averaging 279 ft in depth, Lake Michigan is the
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second-largest Great Lake by volume. Estimate its volume of water in cubic meters. about 10 m