Converting Units

Sometimes you need to change measurements from one unit to another. This is called converting units. You might need to change inches to feet or cups to liters. Math makes these conversions possible.

How to Convert

To convert units, you multiply or divide. If you want to change 36 inches to feet, divide by 12 because there are 12 inches in a foot. The answer is 3 feet.

To go from bigger units to smaller ones, you multiply. Two feet equals 24 inches because 2 times 12 is 24.

Why Convert?

Different situations call for different units. A recipe might use cups, but your measuring tool shows milliliters. You need to convert to measure correctly.

Scientists often need to convert between metric and customary units. Knowing how to convert helps you understand measurements no matter which system is used.

Fun Facts

• One mile is the same as about 1.6 kilometers.
• One kilogram is about 2.2 pounds.
• NASA once lost a Mars spacecraft because one team used metric and another used customary units by mistake.

Did You Know?

You can convert Fahrenheit to Celsius by subtracting 32, then multiplying by 5, then dividing by 9. For example, 212 degrees Fahrenheit equals 100 degrees Celsius!