Week 7: Measurements – Conversions and Time

Convert between Metric and Imperial Systems

In South Africa we use the metric system, which means we use e.g. km, m, cm, kg, g, ml,
litres, etc. – all measurement that has something to do with 10, 100, 1 000, etc.
In other countries, e.g. America or United Kingdom they use the imperial system, which
are measurements like pounds, ounces, yards, feet, etc.

Exercise F: Metric and Imperial Units

Distance units
Metric to Imperial Imperial to Imperial
1 cm = 0,3937 inches 1 mile = 1 760 yards
1 m = 3,28,8 feet 1 yard = 3 feet
1 m = 1,0936 yards 1 feet = 12 inches
1 km = 0,6214 miles

Mass units
Metric to Imperial Imperial to Imperial
1 g = 0,0352 ounces 1 UK ton = 2 240 pounds
1 kg = 2,2046 pounds 1pound = 16 ounces
1 t = 0,9842 UK ton

Volume units
Metric to Imperial Imperial to Imperial
1 ml = 0,0352 fluid ounces 1 gallon = 8 pints
1 L = 1,7598 pints 1 pint = 20 fluid ounces
1 L = 0,22 gallons

Tip: you can also use the direct proportion method here to convert measurements.
1. Do the following conversions:
1.1 12 miles to kilometers 1.3 40 km to miles 1.4 24 inches to cm
1.5 500 g to pounds 1.6 500mℓ to fl. oz. 1.7 37 feet to meter
2. 14 fl. oz. to mℓ 3.1.1 3 600 g to kg 3.1.2 3 600 g to pounds

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Conversion of Temperature Units
 In South Africa we measure temperature in degrees Celsius ( C)
 In other countries, e.g. America, they measure temperature in degrees Farenheit ( F)

Exercise G: Temperature Units

No 1: Use the following formulas (these formulas will be given in assessment tasks and exams)
Temp ( F) = 1,8 Temp( C) + 32
Temp ( C) = [Temp( F) – 32] ÷ 1,8

Convert the following temperatures given in C to F

1.1 14 C 1.2 124 C 1.3 5 C 1.4 0C

Convert the following temperatures given in F to C

1.5 14 F 1.6 124 F 1.7 5 F 1.8 0F

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Calculations and Conversions with Time
Calculations with time
 Time is expressed in different ways on watches and clocks:
* AM/PM: AM stands for “ante meridian” which means “before noon”, e.g. 10:20am will
be twenty past ten in the morning. PM stands for “post meridian” which means “after
noon”, e.g. 10:20pm will be twenty past ten in the evening.
* Digital time is written as hh:mm where h = hours and m = minutes, e.g. 13:25 means it is
twenty five minutes past one in the afternoon. (It can also be written as 13h25.)
* When you say it is 8 o’clock it isn’t clear whether it is in the morning or the evening.
Therefore you have to clarify it by saying “8 o’clock in the morning” or “8 o’clock in the
evening”.
 Calculating elapsed time:
* To calculate elapsed time means that we want to know how much time has passed.
* There are two ways of doing this: calculating it manually or using your calculator.
* Using your calculator to do time calculations:
You can add, subtract, multiply and divide time by using the “time button” on your
calculator.
DMS
It looks like this: or ‘ ‘’

Example 1: Calculate (a) 09:13 + 05:41

(b) 14:35 – 09:56

(a) Press on your calculator: 09 ‘ ‘’ 13 ‘ ‘’ + 05 ‘ ‘’ 41 ‘ ‘’ =

The screen will show: 14 54’0’’
Then the answer is: 14 hours and 54 minutes
(The answer can be written in words OR as 14h54min OR as 14:54)

(b) Press on your calculator: 14 ‘ ‘’ 35 ‘ ‘’ – 09 ‘ ‘’ 56 ‘ ‘’ =

The screen will show: 4 39’0’’
Then the answer is: 4 hours and 39 minutes

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Example 2: Calculate the elapsed time between 09:34 and 16:55.
Method 1: Manually subtract 09:34 from 16:55
Step 1: Calculate the hours 16 – 9 = 7 hours
Step 2: Calculate the minutes 55 – 34 = 21 minutes
Step 3: Write final answer 7 hours and 21 minutes (or 07:21)
Method 2: Using calculator to subtract 09:34 from 16:55
Step 1: Use calculator
16 ‘ ‘’ 55 ‘ ‘’ – 09 ‘ ‘’ 34 ‘ ‘’
Step 2: Write final answer
7 hours and 21 minutes (or 07:21)
Time: converting time units
 The units that we measure time in are: seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and
years.
 The figure below shows how many of each unit we need to convert it to another unit.
60 60
h min sec
60 60

 Here is also helpful information for converting units:

TIME

1 day = 24 h
1 h = 60 min
1 min = 60 sec

Example 1: Convert 238 minutes to hours. Round your answer to two decimal places.
 Step 1: How many minutes in an hour? 1 h = 60 minutes
 Step 2: Multiply or divide? divide.
 Step 3: Divide the number, round the answer and write the unit
238 60 = 3,9666666… ≈ 3,97h
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Example 3: Convert 2h and 30min to hours.
 Step 1: How many minutes in an hour? 1 h = 60 minutes
 Step 2: Multiply or divide? divide.
 Step 3: Divide the number of minutes, add the hours, round the answer and write the unit
2 + (30 60) = 2,5h

Important to note:
 2h30min is NOT equal to 2,3 hours!
 You know that 30 minutes is half an hour, i.e. 0,5h when written as a fraction.
 Therefore you must always divide the minutes by 60 when converting to hours and not just
write the answer.
 Example: 13h42min ≠ 13,42h but 13h42min ≈ 13,7h.

Example 4: Convert 2h and 30min to minutes. Round your answer to the nearest minute.
 Step 1: How many minutes in an hour? 1 h = 60 min
 Step 2: Multiply or divide? multiply.
 Step 3: Multiply the hours by 60, add the minutes, round the answer and write the unit
(2 60) + 30 = 150 minutes

Exercise H: Time
Round all answers to two decimal places where applicable.
Convert the following units.
(a) 55min to h (l) 8h05min to min
(b) 36min to h (m) 15min to seconds
(c) 65h to minutes (n) 600 seconds to min
(d) 18,35h to minutes (o) 180 hours to days
(e) 6h06min to h (p) 15 days to hours
(f) 5h35min to h (q) 60 days to weeks
(g) 3h10min to h (r) 14 weeks to days
(h) 8h05min to h (s) 14 weeks to months
(i) 6h06min to min (t) 3,5 months to weeks
(j) 5h35min to min (u) 11 months to days
(k) 7h10min to min

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 Mathematical Literacy, Grade 11
Informal Assessment Week 7
Total: 40 marks (1 period)

[# A part of this assessment has been adapted from Oxford Successful, Chapter 2 Revision.]
Unless stated otherwise, round all answers to two decimal places.
1. Convert:
1.1 2,5 kg to pounds if 1 kg = 2,2046 pounds. (2)
1.2 80 000 US Dollars to Rand if $1 = R10,17 (2)
1.3 3 miles to feet if 1 mile = 1 760 yards and 1 yard = 3 feet (3)
1.4 400 g butter to ml if 250 ml of butter is 230g. (3)
1.5 36 inches to cm if 1 cm = 0,3937 inches. (3)
[13 marks]
2. Here are the (rounded off) distances (in km) between towns on the N1 route from
Cape Town to Beaufort West:
120 75 89 216
Cape Town Worcester Touwsriver Laingsburg Beaufort West

2.1 Calculate the distance (in km) between Cape Town and Beaufort West. (2)
2.2 Gareth is from the UK. He doesn’t understand how far a certain amount of
kilometres are. How many miles is Worcester from Cape Town?
Given: 1 km = 0,6214 miles (2)
2.3 The maximum speed limit on the N1 is 120 km/h. What is the shortest time
that it will take Gareth to drive back from Worcester to Cape Town? Give
your answer in hours and minutes (to the nearest minute).
Formula: Speed (km/h) = distance (km) ÷ time (h) (5)
[9 marks]

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3. Use the given formulas to answer the questions that follow:
Temp ( F) = 1,8 Temp( C) + 32
Temp ( C) = [Temp( F) – 32] ÷ 1,8
3.1 Convert 10 C to F. (2)
3.2 Alison’s American cousin’s biscuit recipe says that you must put the oven
at 350 F. Alison doesn’t know how to convert from degrees Farenheit to
degrees Celsius but she knows that for most of her recipes she has to put
the oven at 180 C, so she does that. Is she correct to do this? Verify your
answer by showing a calculation AND giving a reason. (4)
[6 marks]
4. Peter worked the following hours this week:
Monday: 02:00 – 5:15; 9:05 – 16:45
Tuesday: 02:00 – 08:30; 22:30 – 24:00
Wednesday: 12:00 – 21:45
Thursday: 04:30 – 09:55; 14:10 – 17:20
Friday: 06:00 – 12:00; 21:30 – 23:45
4.1 Calculate how many hours and minutes he worked each day. (5)
4.2 Calculate the total amount of hours he worked for the week. Round your
answer up to the nearest hour. (3)
4.3 He earns R85/hour. Calculate his wage for the week, after 1 % has been
deducted for UIF (Unemployment Insurance Fund). (4)
[12 marks]

Karelien Kriel, January 2014, © page 99 [Link] / ML11 / WEEK 7 / 2014