Units of Conversion: Linear Measure

Basic to the understanding of unit conversion is the understanding equivalence, the understanding of the multiplicative identity of 1, and how the two are related. For a review of these concepts, click on Review.

If you have forgotten how to manipulate fractions, visit Fractions for Adults on SOSMath for an in-depth review.

Review the following table (Webster's New World Dictionary, Second Edition, Simon and Schuster, 1982) of Standard Units of Conversion to see if you can create fractions that have a value of 1. You can click to examples following each table.

LinearMeasure

Problem 3: Convert 1400 yards to furlongs

Solution:

• Write the 1,400 yards decimeters as a fraction and multiply by 1 three times.

• Multiply the four fractions:
• Rewrite the numerator and denominator so units stand alone:

• At this point, you could cancel the yards, the foots, and the miles. However, let's show you the reason one more time.

• Rewrite the fraction as five fractions:

• Simplify: 6.363636 x 1 x 1 x 1 yard x 1 furlong= 6.363636 furlongs

• This is an approximate answer because we rounded to six decimals.

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