1.

1 Imperial Measurements
Unit Abbreviation Referent
inch in. length of thumb knuckle to end of thumb
foot ft length of foot
yard yd. or yds. tip of nose to end of finger when outstretched
mile mi. 20 minutes of walking

A common abbreviation for 5 ft. 2 in. Is 5′ 2″

NOTE: 5 ft. 2 in. is not the same as 5.2 ft. see figure 1.

Conversions
12 in. = 1 ft.
3 ft. = 1 yd.
5280 ft. = 1 mi.
These are exact conversions.

A. Conversions by Unit analysis

Eg. Convert 5 yards to feet.

5 yds.  3 ft.
 15 ft.
1 yd.

Eg. Convert 5 yards to inches.

5 yds.  3 ft.  12 in.

 180 in.
1 yd.  1 ft.

Eg. Convert 51 inches to feet. (round to the nearest foot)

51 in.  1 ft.
 4.25 ft. which rounds to 4 feet.
12 in.

Eg. Convert 51 inches to feet and inch measurement.

51 in.  1 ft.
 4.25 ft. which is 4 feet and 0.25 feet.
12 in.

0.25 ft.  12 in.

 3 in. which changes the part of a foot to inches. Thus 3 inches.
1 ft.

Therefore 51 inches is 4 feet 3 inches in length.

Eg. Convert 51 inches to yards, feet, and inches.

51 in.  1 ft.  1 yd.

 1.416666667 yds.
12 in.  3 ft.
which is 1 yard and 0.416666667 yards.

0.416666667 yds.  3 ft.

 0.8333333333 ft.
1 yd.
which is 0 feet and 0.8333333333 feet.

0.8333333333 ft. 12 in.

 10 in.
1 ft.
which is 10 inches.

Therefore 51 inches is 1 yard 0 feet 10 inches.

Eg. The perimeter of the framed picture will be 136 in.

a) What will be the perimeter of the framed picture in feet and inches?

136 in.  1 ft.

 11.33333333 ft.
12 in.
which is 11 feet and 0.33333333 feet.

0.33333333 ft. 12 in.

 4 in.
1 ft.
which is 4 inches

Therefore 136 inches is 11 feet 4 inches.

b) The framing material is sold by the foot. It costs $1.89/ft.

What will be the cost of material before taxes?

Since the materials are sold per foot, we need 12 ft. Notice $1.89/ft. can be
12 ft .  $1.89
 $22.68 written as
$1.89
1 ft . 1 ft.

Thus the total cost will be $22.68.

Eg. 6 yds. of fabric need to be cut into 5 inch strips. How many strips are possible?
6 yds.  3 ft .  12 in.
 216 in.
1 yd.  1 ft .
since 216  5  43 , there will be 43 strips created.
B. Conversions by proportions
Best to use when only one step between units is needed.

Eg. Convert 5 yds to ft.

3 ft. x

1 yd. 5 yds.
x  3 5
x  15 ft.

Eg. Convert 15 ft. to in.

12 in. x

1 ft. 15 ft.
x  12 15 
x  180 in.

Eg. Change 51 in. to yds. ft. in.

12 in. 51 in.

1 ft. x
12 x  51
51
x  4.25 ft.
12
Since 3 feet is a yard, then 4.25 ft. breaks down to 1 yd. 1 ft. 0.25ft.
Converting the remaining 0.25 ft. to inches
12in. x

1 ft. 0.25 ft.
x  12  0.25 
x  3 in.
Finally this gives 1 yd. 1 ft. 3 in.
created by Acces for use by Edwin Parr Comp School only.
created by Acces for use by Edwin Parr Comp School only.
created by Acces for use by Edwin Parr Comp School only.
 Math 10C
ID: A Name: _______________________

Metric Conversions Review

1. Convert 0.0055 kilometres to centimetres 8. Convert 5500 millimetres to centimetres

2. Convert 0.71 metres to millimetres 9. Convert 3.5 metres to millimetres

3. Convert 9500 centimetres to metres 10. Convert 0.055 centimetres to millimetres

4. Convert 0.0032 millimetres to metres 11. Convert 0.2 millimetres to centimetres

5. Convert 0.0061 millimetres to centimetres 12. Convert 14000 centimetres to kilometres

6. Convert 370 metres to centimetres 13. Convert 60 centimetres to metres

7. Convert 0.004 metres to centimetres 14. Convert 880 metres to kilometres

15. Convert 0.0031 millimetres to metres

1
 ID: A

Metric Conversions Review

Answer Section

1. 550 cm
2. 710 mm
3. 95 m
4. 0.0000032 m
5. 0.00061 cm
6. 37,000 cm
7. 0.4 cm
8. 550 cm
9. 3,500 mm
10. 0.55 mm
11. 0.02 cm
12. 0.14 km
13. 0.6 m
14. 0.88 km
15. 0.0000031 m

1
 Math 10C
ID: A Name: _______________________

Referents

1. The length of a large person's shoe is close to the 7. A typical sheet of plywood lumber sold is 4  8
measure of (pronounced four-by-eight). The units for this are
A. 1 in. in
B. 1 ft. A. inches.
C. 1 yd. B. feet.
D. 1 mi. C. yards.
D. miles.
2. After walking for 20 minutes a person will have
travelled approximately 8. The typical length of a garden hose is
A. 500 ft. A. 50 in.
B. 500 yds. B. 50 ft.
C. 1 yd. C. 100 in.
D. 1 mi. D. 100 yds.

3. The length from the tip of a nose to an outstretched 9. In North America there are standard sizes of paper.
finger tip is a referent for Which of the following is not a standard size of
A. 1 in. paper?
A. 8 2  11 inches
1
B. 1 ft.
C. 1 yd.
B. 8  9 inches
D. 1 mi.
C. 8 2  14 inches
1

4. The length of a thumb from the tip to the first joint D. 11  17 inches
is a referent for
A. 1 in. 10. When purchasing wood at a lumber store, the
B. 1 ft. length of a board is considered. A typical length of
C. 1 yd. a board sold is
D. 1 mi. A. 12 ft.
B. 12 yds.
5. Ordering prints for photographs have the typical C. 50 yds.
sizes of 4  6, 5  7, or 8  10. The units for these D. 50 ft.
are in
A. inches. 11. When buying a house on a town or city block,
B. feet. frontage is an important consideration. Frontage is
C. yards. the length of the plot of land measured along the
D. miles. roadside at the front of the plot. A typical frontage
for a small house on a city block is
6. A common board used in construction is a 2  4 A. 50 ft.
(pronounced two-by-four). The actual dimensions B. 50 in.
of the wood are 1 2  3 2 . The units for these
1 1
C. 500 ft.
meaurements are in D. 500 yds.
A. inches.
B. feet.
C. yards.
D. miles.

1
 ID: A

12. The length of a typical North American football 19. Measure the length of the rectangle using the inch
playing field from goal line to goal line is ruler shown.
A. 10 ft.
B. 10 in.
C. 100 ft.
D. 100 yds.

13. Computer LCD monitors are typically sold by their 3

diagonal length. A common size of monitors sold A. 1 inches
16
today is
1
A. 20 ft. B. 1 inches
16
B. 20 in.
1
C. 200 ft. C. 1 inches
4
D. 200 in.
7
D. inches
14. A common size of a bedroom in a typical house is 8
A. 19 ft.  40 ft.
20. Measure the length of the rectangle using the inch
B. 10 ft.  12 ft.
ruler shown.
C. 19 yds.  40 yds.
D. 10 yds.  12 yds.

15. A common height of a room in a typical house is

A. 4 ft.
B. 6 ft.
C. 8 ft. 3
A. inches
D. 13 ft. 4
7
16. A common width of a doorway in typical house is B. inches
8
A. 30 in. 1
B. 4 ft. C. 1 inches
8
C. 30 ft. 15
D. 4 yds. D. inches
16
17. A double garage door has a standard width. This 21. Measure the length of the rectangle using the inch
entrance that allows cars to enter the garage has a ruler shown.
width of
A. 4 ft.
B. 16 ft.
C. 16 yds.
D. 4 yds.

18. A typical airplane will fly at a cruising altitude of 9

A. 1 inches
30 000 16
A. inches 7
B. 1 inches
B. feet 16
C. yards 1
C. 1 inches
D. miles 2
11
D. 1 inches
16

2
 ID: A

22. Measure the length of the rectangle using the inch 25. Measure the length of the rectangle using the
ruler shown. centimetre ruler shown.

5 A. 3.95 cm
A. 1 inches
16 B. 3 cm
1 C. 3.5 cm
B. 1 inches
8 D. 3.9 cm
1
C. 1 inches 26. Measure the length of the rectangle using the
2
centimetre ruler shown.
7
D. 1 inches
16

23. Measure the length of the rectangle using the

centimetre ruler shown.

A. 3.25 cm
B. 3 cm
C. 3.5 cm
D. 3.2 cm
A. 1.25 cm
B. 1 cm
C. 1.5 cm
D. 1.2 cm

24. Measure the length of the rectangle using the

centimetre ruler shown.

A. 2.35 cm
B. 2 cm
C. 2.5 cm
D. 2.3 cm

3
 ID: A

Referents
Answer Section

1. B
2. D
3. C
4. A
5. A
6. A
7. B
8. B
9. B
10. A
11. A
12. D
13. B
14. B
15. C
16. A
17. B
18. B
19. B
20. D
21. C
22. A
23. D
24. D
25. D
26. D

1
Math 10 C

1.3 SI units and Imperial Units

Example 1 Converting from Metres to Feet
A. A bowling lane is approximately 19 m long.
What is this measurement to the nearest foot?

1900 cm × 1 in. × 1ft.

= 62 ft.
2.54 cm × 12 in.

B. A Canadian football field is approximately 59 m wide.

What is this measurement to the nearest foot?

5900 cm × 1 in. × 1ft.

= 62 ft.
2.54 cm × 12 in.

Example 2 Converting between Miles and Kilometres

A. After meeting in Emerson,Manitoba, Hana drove 62 mi. south and Farrin drove 98 km north.
Who drove farther?

62 mi. × 1.6 km
= 99.2 km
1 mi.
Therefore Hana drove farther

B. After meeting in Osoyoos, B. C., Takoda drove 114 km north and Winona drove 68 mi. south.
Who drove farther?

68 mi. × 1.6 km
= 108.8 km
1 mi.
Therefore Takoda drove farther
Math 10 C

Example 3 Solving a Problem that Involves Unit Conversions

A. Alex is 6 ft. 2 in. tall. To list his height on his driver’s license application, Alex needs to
convert this measurement to centimetres.
What is Alex’s height to the nearest centimetre?

6 × 12 + 2 = 74 in.
74 in. × 2.54 cm
= 188 cm
1 in.

B. Nora knows that she is 5 ft. 7 in. tall.

What height in centimeters will she list on her driver’s license application?

5 × 12 + 7 = 67 in.
67 in. × 2.54 cm
= 170 cm
1 in.

Example 4 Estimating and Calculating Using Unit Conversions

A. A truck driver knows that her semitrailer is 3.5 m high. The support beams of a bridge are 11
ft. 9 in. high. Will the vehicle fit under the bridge? Justify the answer.
11 × 12 + 9 = 141 in.
141 in. × 2.54 cm
= 358 cm
1 in.
358 cm = 3.58 m
The semi will fit.
B. A truck driver knows that his load is 15 ft. wide. Regulations along his route state that any
load over 4.3 m wide must have wide-load markers and an escort with flashing lights.
Does this vehicle need wideload markers? Justify your answer.

15 ft. × 12 in. × 2.54 cm × 1m

= 4.572 cm
1 ft. × 1 in. × 100 cm
There will need to be wide-load markers and an escort.
 Math 10C
ID: A Name: _______________________

SI and Imperial Units

1 mile = 5280 feet 1 inch = 2.54 cm 1 pound = 0.454 kg
1 yard = 3 feet 1 metre = 3.28 feet 1 gallon = 3.79 litres
1 foot = 12 inches 1 mile = 1.6 km 1 quart = 0.946 litres
in.- inch ft.- feet yd.- yard mi.- mile lb - pound gal - gallon

1. Convert 94.25 m to feet. 10. Convert 488 feet to m.

11. Convert 29 mi. to the nearest kilometre. Use the

conversion that 1 mile is about 1.6 km.
2. Convert 124 miles to km.

.
12. Convert 89 km to miles.

3. Convert 146 inches to cm.

13. Convert 171 m to yards.
.

14. Convert 104 inches to cm.

4. Convert 342 km to miles.
.
15. Convert 195 cm to feet and the nearest inch.

5. Convert 121 feet to m.

16. Convert 32 mi. to the nearest kilometre. Use the
. conversion that 1 mile is about 1.6 km.

6. Convert 40 cm to inches. 17. Convert 126 cm to feet and the nearest inch.
.

18. Convert 301 miles to km.

7. Convert 77 inches to cm.

19. Convert 8.7 metres to feet and the nearest inch.

8. Convert 171 cm to feet and the nearest inch.

20. Convert 395 km to miles.

9. Convert 8.3 metres to feet and the nearest inch.

21. Convert 30 mi. to the nearest kilometre. Use the

conversion that 1 mile is about 1.6 km.

1
 ID: A

SI and Imperial Units

Answer Section

1. 309.14 feet
94.25 m  3.28 feet
1m
2. 198.4 km
124 miles  1.6 km
1 miles
3. 370.84 cm
146 inches  2.54 cm
1 inches
4. 213.75 miles
342 km  1 miles
1.6 km
5. 36.8902439 m
121 feet  1 m
3.28 feet
6. 15.7480315 inches
40 cm  1 inches
2.54 cm
7. 196 cm
8. 5 ft. 7 in.
9. 27 ft. 3 in.
10. 149 m
11. 46 km
12. 55 miles
13. 187 yards
14. 264 cm
15. 6 ft. 5 in.
16. 51 km
17. 4 ft. 2 in.
18. 484 km
19. 28 ft. 7 in.
20. 245 miles
21. 48 km