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MEASUREMENT |
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MEASUREMENT |
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Conversions? Who needs them? Measurements are all
relative, and sometimes conversions to one system to another can be confusing.
If you are outside in Rome, Italy and
Everyone should have a “feeling” for measurements. If someone asks directions, you might say, ”Oh, about 2 miles down the road.” Most people who say this have no idea what a mile actually is, but they can guess the number. Conversion is like this also, it is necessary for a math test or if you are a scientist, map maker, or just want the correct answer. Consider this. It is good to use your body parts to get a sense of metric versus English system. Your index finger is about 3 inches in the English system and about 5 cm in the metric. If you are about 6 feet, that would be 2 yards, but less than 2 meters. You can walk a mile in about 15 minutes, but you can walk a kilometer in 9 minutes. |
someone
tells you it is 32 degrees outside, would you put on a coat or put on a
bathing suit? However if you were in New York, would you wear the
same items of clothing? Some people would say, “Well I don’t know the
conversion?” Sometimes you don’t need to know the precise degrees but an
accurate assessment would be in order. Let’s think about it
Europe uses the Centigrade scale which is 0 – 100 and the United States uses
the Fahrenheit which is 32 – 212. Consider which one is colder than the
other, and right away you need a bathing suit in Rome and a coat in New York.