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Middle School Archive

Browse Middle School Terms/Units of Measurement
Stars indicate particularly interesting answers or good places to begin browsing.

Selected answers to common questions:
    Equivalent measurements: tsp, oz, pt, lb.
    Measuring with Two Containers.
    Metric Measurements.
    Meters Squared or Square Meters?
    Unit conversions, unit cancellation.

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4- and 9-liter Pails: How to Measure 7 Liters [05/07/2002]

How can you measure 7 liters using only 4-liter and 9-liter pails? A strategy for solving this kind of problem.

Administering Insulin [07/09/2003]

If a doctor prescribes 30 units of insulin in 500 ml to be administered over 2 hours, how many drops per minute should be administered if the set is calibrated to deliver 20 drops per ml?

Equations from Word Problems, and Units [05/19/2003]

In 2 1/4 hours the temperature dropped 13 1/9 degrees. How many degrees did the temperature drop per hour? How do I convert this from words into an equation?

Finding Areas using Unit Conversions [3/19/1996]

How do you calculate area, expressed in English units? For example: how do you calculate the area of a rectangle, where one side is, say, 2 miles, 3 furlongs, 4 yards, 2 feet and 5 inches...?

Inches, Feet, Yards, Miles, and Unit Fractions [01/29/2002]

I need to know if you multiply or divide in changing feet to inches, feet to yards, miles to yards, feet to miles, yards to miles, yards to feet.

Measurement: Precision vs. Accuracy [01/07/2003]

Using a metric ruler student A measured the length of an object to the nearest tenth (0.1) of a centimeter, while student D measured its length to the nearest centimeter. Which measurement is more accurate?

Meters Squared vs. Square Meters [11/18/2001]

Is 12 m^2 better read as 12 square meters or 12 meters squared?

Metric Conversion Chart [07/17/1997]

Do you know of a conversion chart I can use to convert from metric to customary and vice versa?

Metric Unit Conversions [08/21/2001]

How do you know when you should multiply or divide in these conversions?

Millimeters, Inches, Feet, Miles [07/10/2003]

The conversions given for millimeters to inches is 25.4, and for feet to miles is 5280. Are these numbers exact?

Rounding 389.512 to Three Significant Digits [05/24/2003]

On the one hand, 390 is the closest multiple of 10 to 389.512; on the other hand, it is the closest whole number to 389.512.

Time, Speed, Distance, and Unit Conversion [7/30/1996]

If a car moves at 44 mph for 50 minutes, how many kilometers does it travel?

Volume to be Infused by Drip Factor [07/02/2003]

A patient is to receive 1440 milliliters of fluid in 24 hours. The drip factor is 15 drops per milliliter. How many drops per minute should the patient receive?

What is Dimensional Analysis? [11/26/2001]

What is dimensional analysis and how does it work?

The Abbreviation for Pound [2/14/1996]

I was wondering why the abbreviation of pound is lb.

Abbreviation of Ounce [04/27/2002]

Why is the abbreviation for ounce oz.?

About Measurements and Unit Conversion [02/03/2002]

I don't understand measurements.

Absolute Degrees in Terms of One Circle Revolution [05/02/2002]

I have an angle of -6 degrees which I need to express in terms of a single 0-360 revolution.

Acceleration Formula and Squared Units [01/24/2005]

Why is the answer for acceleration written in square units, like feet per second squared?

Adding and Subtracting Measurements [08/13/1998]

How do you add and subtract measurements like 4'7" + 2'10" and 11'6" - 2'8"?

Angles Greater than 360 Degrees [01/01/1999]

We know the definitions of acute, obtuse, and reflex angles, but we were debating what kind of angle a 425 degree angle is.

Area Larger Than Perimeter? [04/15/2002]

Can the area of a shape be larger than the perimeter?

Are Angles Dimensionless? [08/31/2003]

If you look at the dimensions in the equation arc length = r*theta, it appears that angles must be dimensionless. But this can't be right. Or can it?

Area of a Circle with Radius less than 1 [02/18/2002]

If the radius is less than 1 it just gets smaller and you get a smaller area...

Bits, Bytes [04/28/2003]

A Web page of 10 megabytes is being retrieved from a Web server. What is the time to transfer the page over a modem operating at 28.8kbps?

Bits (Money) [02/26/2001]

In the cheer: Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar; All for (school), Stand up and holler! what are bits?

British Thermal Units [7/8/1996]

What is the formula for converting BTU (British Thermal Units)?

Capitalizing Unit Abbreviations [09/15/2003]

Why do we use a lowercase m to abbreviate meters, but an uppercase L to abbreviate liters?

Centimeters in a Hand [02/27/2002]

You measure horses in "hands." I need to know how many centimeters are in 1 hand.

Choosing Appropriate Units [10/09/2003]

How do you choose appropriate units for a measurement?

Circle Area and Square Units [11/12/1997]

Is pi metres squared the same as 10,000 pi centimetres squared? Does a square with sides of 10m have an area of 10m squared or 100 square metres - or are these the same?

Coin Specifications [09/24/2001]

Approximately how many nickels does it take to make a pound? How many dimes? Pennies?

Comparing Metric Measurements [09/22/2005]

Which is heavier, 900g or 1 kg? How do I compare metric measurements?

Comparing Very Large Numbers--Which Is Bigger? [12/01/2004]

How do you decide which large number is greater? For instance, how do you know whether 9!^(9!^9) is greater than 10^(10!^10)?

Convert Degrees to Radians [7/21/1996]

How do you convert degrees to radians, and vice versa?

Converting Areas: Square Feet to Square Inches [03/18/1997]

How many square inches are in ten square feet?

Converting Between Cubic Feet and Cubic Yards [05/09/2002]

How can I figure out how many cubic feet are in a cubic yard?

Converting Bits to Megabytes [02/12/2001]

The human brain will store 100 trillion bits in its lifetime. How many million megabytes can your brain store?

Converting Cubic Centimeters [04/27/1999]

How do I convert cc's to milliliters?

Converting English Stones into Pounds [9/27/1995]

Could you please tell me what 13 stones (English weight measurement) equates to in pounds?

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