Ask Dr. Math

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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Rules for Significant Figures and Decimal Places [03/23/1999]

Accurate measurement: What are significant digits? When do we use them? Why?

Slope Angle [06/17/2003]

What units do we use to refer to slope?

Speed of a Knot [06/10/1999]

How fast is a knot?

Speed of Light [06/08/2001]

What's m s^-1? Why isn't it just m/s (meters per second) instead? What's the little "-1" at the end?

Square Centimeters and Centimeters Squared [07/09/2004]

If it's pronounced '1 square centimeter' why is it abbreviated 1 cm^2? Why don't they just say 1^s cm? The ^s would stand for square and it would be much easier to understand.

Square Feet [4/13/1996]

I need to know how to compute square feet for some cabinets that I have to move in a room.

Square Foot Shape Symbol [02/04/2002]

I am looking for a symbol for square foot.

Statute Miles and Nautical Miles [5/11/1996]

What's the difference between statute miles and nautical miles, and why do they use statute miles for space shuttle launches?

Teaching about Bearings [06/08/2000]

What are bearings? Do you have any ideas on how I can present bearings to my math class in an interesting fashion?

Teaching Fractions of an Inch [7/9/1996]

Do you have any suggestions on how to best teach the "inch"?

Teaching the Metric System [08/18/2000]

How can I teach my second grader about the metric system? I have no idea how to read a metric ruler or how to convert inches into the metric system or vice versa.

True and Magnetic North [04/08/2002]

How do you convert from true north to magnetic north?

Unit Conversions [11/16/1995]

Dr. Math offers a good tip for most unit conversions.

Unit Conversions [04/23/1997]

Where can I find a listing of unit conversions?

Unit Conversions [11/15/1997]

How many cups are in 4 liters?

Unit Conversions - Metric System [7/8/1996]

Convert: 3.25 cm to millimeters, 9.24 km to meters, 1,000 mi to kilometers.

Units and Square Units in Measuring Perimeter and Area [01/02/2005]

Why is perimeter measured in units and area measured in square units?

Units of Capacity and Weight [04/24/2002]

How many quarts of water would weigh 1,432 pounds?

Visualizing the Metric System [08/02/1997]

What are some common things that could be used to approximate lengths for a visual picture of the different lengths in the metric system?

Volume of a Tube Converted to Gallons [08/01/1997]

I have a length of round pipe that is 4" in diameter and 10 feet long. How many gallons of water will it hold if filled and sealed at both ends?

Weighing Bubble Gum [01/30/1998]

What measurement would I use for the weight of a bubble gum stick?

Weight of a Gallon of Water [07/29/1999]

How much does a gallon of water weigh?

Weight of a Whale [05/24/1999]

How do you find the weight of a whale?

What are Flops? [02/25/2001]

What are flops, as relating to computers?

What is a Cubit? [03/31/2002]

The Bible says that Moses was 9 cubits tall and Pharaoh was 1 cubit tall. What is that in today's inches or feet?

What is a Newton? [04/28/2002]

What is the weight in newtons of a 100-kg person?

What is a Pace? [02/28/2002]

What is the difference between a "pace" and the standard unit of measurement?

What is a Stone? [11/11/2001]

Can you tell me what a stone in English measurement is equal to in pounds?

What is a Terabyte? [03/24/2002]

What is a terabyte? I know a gigabyte is one billon bytes.

What is Denary? [06/07/1999]

Could you please give me two examples of denary?

What is the Difference between a Metric and a Standard Ton? [3/28/1995]

A student has a question about units of weight.

Why 6.28 Radians? [10/07/1998]

Why is a circle divided into approximately 6.28 radians?

Why Is a Circle 360 Degrees? [07/01/1998]

Why is a circle defined as 360 degrees?

Why Isn't a Kilobyte 1,000 Bytes? [03/29/2001]

If the prefix kilo- means 1000, why is a kilobyte 1024 bytes instead of 1000 bytes?

Why Is 'Pound' Abbreviated 'lb'? [03/08/2004]

Why is "pound" abbreviated lb? Is it because of its Latin roots? I know libra means pound. What is the history of it?

Word for a 225th Birthday [07/10/2001]

This year America is celebrating its 225th birthday. As we celebrated the bicentennial in 1976, is there a term for 225 years?

Writing 'Square Foot' [05/05/2001]

Is there a symbol for "square foot"?

Young's Formula [08/21/1999]

Calculating a child's dose of medicine based on the adult dose.

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