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Transcript of Distance Measurements: Length, width, depth, and height Created by Leecy Wise and Caitlyn Reese, ©...
MATH MODULE 2.2
Distance Measurements:
Length, width, depth, and heightCreated by Leecy Wise and Caitlyn Reese, © Unlimited Learning, Inc.
2015
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Measuring is part of our everyday life. We measure ingredients for recipes, distances to places, minutes, miles per gallon, weight, and more.
Measuring is also an essential part of all medical and scientific professions.
The most common categories of measuring that are used in healthcare are length, weight, volume, time and temperature.
Nurses and other health professionals use three systems of measurement in their work:
These sound complicated, but they are actually easy to use with practice.
In this module we will discuss the two most commonly used systems, and then you will learn how to convert amounts from one system to another.
• The metric system
• The English (household) system• The apothecary system
In this module we will cover the metric system and the English system.
The Apothecary system is probably the oldest drug
measurement system, and it is sometimes still used today. This system uses Roman numerals and terms like
grains, drams, and minims. We will not cover the apothecary system
here. You might come across it later in your health career, but the metric and English
systems are used much more often.
THE METRIC SYSTEM
That’s why it is very important for all health workers to be familiar with the metric system!
In the United States, we tend to use the English system for daily purchases and household use (like pounds, cups, and inches), but that is not the case in most of the world…
In fact, the metric system is also called the SI system, which means the International System of Units. This
system is used across the world so that scientists from different countries can exchange information easily,
without having to worry about converting between different units.
So, to make sure medical information can also be communicated easily with the rest of the world, healthcare workers in the U.S. almost always use the metric system for patient measurements and drug dosages.
Most people in other countries use the metric system for everything!
But how do you measure in the metric system? You are probably used to:
• Yards, feet, and inches
• Gallons, quarts, and cups
• Tablespoons and teaspoons
• Ounces and poundsWith this system you have to constantly remember that 1 cup has 8 liquid ounces and that 1 pound weighs the same as 16 ounces, and so on…
Well here’s the good news. You don’t have to remember all of that in the metric
system!
In the metric system, all measurements differ by 10’s:
10
0.010.10
0.000110,000
0.001 1001,000
• Like tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands and so on… AND decimals such as…
• Tenths, hundredths, thousandths, ten-thousandths, etc.
PSST! If you’re not sure what that means, don’t worry! We’ll explain it in detail later.
Okay, now that we’ve talked about the two main systems of measurement, let’s get back
to the different units for measuring
LENGTHNEXT EXIT
5 MILES
Length describes an object’s size from one end to another; it may also describe the distance between objects.
Length
Here are some examples:
I am 5 feet (ft) 7 inches (in.) tall
His house is 7.5 miles (mi) from his workThe patient has a 2.5 inch (in.) incision on his chest
But meters (m) are the basic unit for measuring lengths in the metric system.
Meter stick
We usually use inches and feet for measuring length in the U.S.
In the English System, we call 3 feet a yard.
Well, 1 meter (abbreviated 1 m) is very close to 1 yard! In fact, a yard is only about 3 inches longer than a meter:
Yardstick
If you look at how these two measuring sticks are divided, you’ll notice that the yard is divided into feet and inches,
and the meter stick is divided into centimeters.
And of course you probably know that each
foot has 12 inches…
But you may not know that each meter has 100 centimeters.
There is no unit within a meter that has a length similar to feet. Usually lengths are
either measured in whole meters or centimeters, but nothing in between.
1 meter =
100 cm
meter stick
yardstick
Notice how much smaller centimeters
are compared to inches!!!
What do you notice about the word
centimeter?Perhaps you noticed that it’s simply the word “meter” with “centi-” attached to the front.
Actually, those two word parts give us the exact meaning of the whole word, and can help us remember exactly how big a centimeter is!
CENTI- is actually something called a prefix that comes from Latin (a prefix is a word part that you attach to a larger word part to change the meaning).
Centi- means “one hundredth,” so when we attach it to the word “meter” it translates to “One hundredth of a meter”
Centi- = 1/100
“DECI-” is another Latin
prefix that means one tenth
There’s actually A LOT of prefixes that are used in the metric system, that all have meanings very similar to this. Let’s looks at another one:
Deci- = 1/10
So, how big is one decimeter?
If you said that one decimeter is one tenth of a meter,
you’re right!
1 decimeter (one tenth of a meter)
1 centimeter (one hundredth of a meter)
Notice how decimeters (dm) aren’t separately marked on metric rulers; all you see is the marking for 10 cm. In general, most things are simply measured in meters (m) or centimeters (cm).
“Milli-” is another Latin prefix that
means one thousandth
Let’s do one more for right now:
milli- = 1/1000
So, how big is one millimeter?
Did you say that one millimeter is one thousandth of a meter? Yes! You’re getting
the hang of it now…
1 decimeter (one tenth of a meter)
1 centimeter (one hundredth of a meter)1 millimeter (one thousandth of a meter)
Okay, now test your knowledge!
Write the answers for the blanks on your Lesson Answer Sheet. Click to check your answers.
One meter has ________ decimeters.One meter has ________centimeters.One meter has ________millimeters.
One meter has 10 decimeters.
One meter has 100 centimeters.
One meter has 1000 millimeters.
Check your answers. Cross out any wrong answers and correct them on your answer sheet.
The abbreviations for the terms you have now learned are actually easy to remember:
1 meter = 1 m1 decimeter = 1 dm1 centimeter = 1 cm1 millimeter = 1 mm
1. A square with 5 cm sides.2. An equilateral triangle with 4.5 cm sides. 3. A rectangle with a length of 1 dm and a
height of 0.5 dm.4. A circle with a 50 mm diameter.
Ask your coach to check your work when you’re done.
NOTE: EQUI is a prefix that means SAME. LATERAL means side.
Ask your coach for a metric ruler and draw the following shapes on your Lesson Answer Sheet. Label the measurements of each side.
Now that you know how the metric system works to measure length or height, you will need to know how to convert between units of the metric system.The good news is that you have already learned about tenths, hundredths and thousandths in the metric system.
Now we know that one meter has one hundred centimeters:
1 m = 100 cmBut how do we express centimeters in terms of meters?Actually, there are two ways:
Like you saw before, we can express 1 cm as a fraction of one meter…
1 cm = 1/100th of 1 mOR
We can express 1 cm as a decimal in meters…
1 cm = 0.01 m This is the hundredths place. So, by putting a 1 in this spot, we are saying “One hundredth,” just like the fraction!
Alright, so are you ready for a secret?
There’s actually a really easy way to turn centimeters into meters as a decimal…
To go from centimeters to meters, you basically are dividing by 100, right?
1.0 cm
= 1100 m
Which, if you type 1 ÷ 100 in the calculator, you will get…
0.01 mBut do you see a pattern here?
Dividing by 100 is the same thing as just moving the decimal point 2
places to the left!
Move the
decimal
two places
1.0Fill in the
gaps
with zeros
. .01 m!
1 cm
Now let’s look at an example: How would you express 21.6 cm in meters as both a fraction and a decimal?
21.6 cm 2 1.6. .216 m
Let’s find the decimal form first… Move
the decimal
two places
Great! Now let’s do the fraction form, but wait a minute… how do we turn 21.6 cm into a fraction? We can’t just put 21.6 over 100!
Actually, the easiest way is to use the decimal to help us…
.216 mThis decimal goes all the
way out to the thousandths place
This is the same as saying we have two-hundred and sixteen
thousandths of a meter
As a fraction, this is written:
2161000 m
Now you try it! Express the following centimeter amounts in meters, as a fraction AND as a decimal. Write your answers on your Lesson Answer Sheet, then click to check your answers.
1) 13 cm2) 23 cm3) 34.6 cm4) 7.6 cm
TIP: Remember that you’re dividing by 100, so you can move the point over to the left two places to get the decimal form. Then you can use the decimal form to help you get the fraction if needed.
1. 13 cm = 0.13 m or m
2. 24 cm = 0.24 m or m
3. 34.6 cm = 0.346 m or m
4. 7.5 cm = 0.075 m or m
10013
Check your answers. Cross out any wrong answers and correct them on your answer sheet.
Guess what? The decimal trick actually works in both directions!
Say that this time you wanted to go from meters to centimeters (the opposite of before)…
1.2 mThis time instead of
dividing by 100, we’re multiplying by 100. This is the same as
moving the decimal 2 places to the RIGHT!
Move the
decimal
two places
1.2Fill in the
gaps
with zeros
. 120 cm!
To go from a smaller to bigger metric unit, we DIVIDE which means we move the decimal LEFT
and
So, you may have noticed that…
÷
To go from a bigger to smaller metric unit, we MULTIPLY which so we move the decimal RIGHT
X
How about if you wanted to convert between meters and decimeters?
The only difference is that instead of dividing or multiplying by 100, you would use 10, and only move 1 decimal place. For example…
And guess what else? The decimal trick actually works for ALL metric units!!!
30 dmMove the decimal
LEFT one place
30.0 3.0 m!To go from dm to m,
we are going to a bigger unit, so we
move LEFT
*(Then if you needed to go from m to dm, we’d be going to a smaller unit, so we’d move RIGHT one place)
And finally if you wanted to convert between meters and millimeters…
You would be dividing or multiplying by 1000, and you move 3 decimal places! For example…
1.5 mMove the decimal
RIGHT three places
1.5 1500 To go from m to mm,
we are going to a smaller unit, so we
move RIGHT
mm
*(Then of course to go from mm to m, we’d be going to a bigger unit, so we’d move LEFT three places)
Alright, let’s try it.Do the following conversions within the metric system
using our decimal trick. Write your answers on your Lesson Answer Sheet, then click to check your work.
1) 560 cm to m2) 4.5 m to dm3) 1240 mm to m4) 67 dm to m
Remember: • Small to big is DIVIDE which means the decimal moves LEFT• Big to small is MULTIPLY which means the decimal moves RIGHT• But you have to figure out HOW MANY places the decimal moves
1) cm to m move 2 places left560 cm = 5.6 m
Check your answers. Cross out any wrong answers and correct them on your answer sheet.
2) m to dm move 1 place right4.5 m = 45 dm
3) mm to m move 3 places left1240 mm = 1.24 m
4) dm to m move 1 place left67 dm = 6.7 m
Now let’s review English measures used in the U.S
for length. Then we’ll learn how to convert back and forth between the metric system and the English
System.
THE ENGLISH SYSTEM Also known as the
HOUSEHOLD MEASURING SYSTEM
1 yard (yd) = 3 feet
You’re probably very familiar with the following units of measurement, since in the U.S., we use them everyday:
1 foot (ft) = 12 inches (in)Pretty simple!
The only problem is that when you need to express something smaller than 1
inch, we have to start using fractions (yuck!)
That’s one advantage the metric system has.
Millimeters are so small that usually fractions aren’t
needed.
*Note: The yard is the basic unit of length in the English
System, which is then divided into smaller units
1. When converting from a smaller unit of measurement to a larger one, you divide.
Now let’s try doing some conversions with length units in the English System…
÷Keep in mind that when converting between ANY units:
x2. When converting from a larger unit measurement to a smaller one, you multiply.
How would you convert 60 inches into feet?
Converting Smaller Units to Bigger Units Let’s look at a couple examples:
Well, since we know there are 12 inches in a foot, and we’re going from a smaller to a bigger unit, this tells us to divide:
60 in ÷ 12 in. per ft = 5 feet
Okay, now let’s try converting 27 feet into yards…This time we know there are 3 feet in a yard, and again we’re going from a smaller
to a bigger unit, so this tells us to divide here as well:
27 ft ÷ 3 ft per yard = 9 yards
How would you convert 10.5 feet into inches?
Converting Bigger Units to Smaller Units Okay, here are a couple more examples to go in the opposite direction:
Here, we still need to know that there are 12 inches in a foot, but we’re going from a bigger to a smaller unit, so this time we need to multiply:
10.5 ft x 12 in. per ft = 126 in
Okay, now let’s try converting 4.5 yards into feet…This time we know there are 3 feet in a yard, and again we’re going from a bigger to
a smaller unit, so this tells us to multiply here as well:
4.5 yd x 3 ft per yard = 13.5 feet*Which is the same as 13 feet
and 6 inches, right?
Okay, your turn!Do the following conversions, and write your answers on your Lesson Answer Sheet. Then click to check your work.
1) A boy’s length at birth is normally between 19.1 and 20.1 inches. Convert this to feet. Round your answers to
one decimal point.
2) At six months, a girl’s length is usually between 2.1 and 2.2 feet. Convert this to inches. Round your
answers to one decimal point.
3) 9 year old boys and girls both tend to have an average height of about 52.5 inches. Convert this to yards. Round your answer to one decimal point.
(Hint: You’ll need to convert to feet first, then convert feet to yards.)
1) A boy’s length at birth is normally
between 1.6 and 1.7 feet
2) At six months, a girl’s length is usually
between 25.2 and 26.4 inches
3) 9 year old boys and girls both tend to have an average height of about
1.5 yards
Check your answers. Cross out any wrong answers and correct them on your answer sheet.
Now that you can convert length measurements within both the
metric and the household systems, let’s convert numbers from one
system to another…Metric to English
andEnglish to Metric
Let’s start with converting between yards and meters…
1 yard = 0.9144 meters Meter stick
Yardstick
First of all, which one is bigger? Well it looks like the yardstick is bigger, plus the amount in meters is a decimal. So…
To go from meters (smaller) to yards (bigger) you would divideAnd to go from yards (bigger) to meters (smaller) you would multiply
Let’s try it. First we’ll give you an example, but try the rest on your own. Round to two decimal places. Write your answers on
your Lesson Answer Sheet, then click to check your work.
2 yds = ______ m
3.5 yds = ______ m
0.5 m = ______ yds
4.2 m = ______ yds
6.5 yds = ______ m
Remember: 1 yd = 0.9144 m
We’re going from bigger to smaller here, so we multiply:
6.5 yds x 0.9144 m per yd = 5.94 mOkay, now try these:
Multiply or divide depending on whether the units are getting
smaller or bigger:
2 yds = 1.83 m (2 X 0.9144)3.5 yds = 3.20 m (3.5 X 0.9144) 0.5 m = 0.55 yds (0.5 ÷ 0.9144) 4.2 m = 4.59 yds (4.2 ÷ 0.9144)
Check your answers. Cross out any wrong answers and correct them on your answer sheet.
1 foot = 3.048 decimeters
Okay, which one is bigger? Well we can see that a foot is much bigger, a little more than 3 times as long! So…
To go from decimeters (smaller) to feet (bigger) you would divideAnd to go from feet (bigger) to decimeters (smaller) you would multiply
Remember, length units in the metric system go down from meters, decimeters, centimeters, then millimeters.
So let’s look at decimeters and feet next…
1 Ft
1dm 1dm 1dm
Okay, ready? We’ll give you an example again, then try the rest on your own. Round to the two decimal places. Write your
answers on your Lesson Answer Sheet, then click to check your work.
2.5 ft = _____ dm
7 ft = _____ dm
3.2 dm = _____ ft
8.9 dm = _____ ft
1.7 ft = ______ dm
Remember: 1 ft = 3.048 dm
We’re going from bigger to smaller here, so we multiply:
1.7 ft x 3.048 dm per ft = 5.18 dmAlright, now try these:
Multiply or divide depending on whether the units are getting smaller
or bigger:
2.5 ft = 76.20 dm (2.5 X 3.048)
7 ft = 213.36 dm (7 X 3.048)3.2 dm = 1.04 ft (3.2 ÷ 3.048)8.9 dm = 2.69 ft (8.9 ÷ 3.048)
Check your answers. Cross out any wrong answers and correct them on your answer sheet.
1 inch = 2.54 centimeters
Alright, which one is bigger? Well we can see that an inch is a little more than two and half times bigger! So…
To go from centimeters (smaller) to inches (bigger) you would divideAnd to go from inches (bigger) to centimeters (smaller) you would multiply
Finally, let’s look at converting between inches and centimeters.
(There isn’t an English measurement that is close in size to millimeters so we don’t have to learn any conversions for that…)
1 inch
1cm 1 cm
One more time! We’ll give you an example, then try the rest on your own. Round to the two decimal places. Write your answers
on your Lesson Answer Sheet, then click to check your work.
2 in. = _____ cm 3.6 in. = _____ cm7.9 cm = _____ in. 8 cm = _____ in.
6 in. = ______ cm
Remember: 1 in. = 2.54 cm
We’re going from bigger to smaller, so we multiply:
6 in. x 2.54 cm per in. = 15.24 cmAlright, now try these:
Notice that the abbreviation for inch (in.) uses a period.
This is the only abbreviation that has a period, to avoid
confusion with the word “in.”
Multiply or divide depending on whether the units are getting smaller
or bigger:
2 in. = 5.08 cm (2 X 2.54) 3.6 in. = 9.14 cm (3.6 X 2.54)7.9 cm = 3.11 in. (7.9 ÷ 2.54)
8 cm = 3.15 in. (8 ÷ 2.54)
Check your answers. Cross out any wrong answers and correct them on your answer sheet.
1. A cafeteria tray measures 1.5 ft long and 1.2 ft wide. Express those dimensions in decimeters.
2. A patient’s bed mattress is 203 cm long by 99 cm wide. Express those dimensions in inches.
3. Mrs. Abudi walked 36.6 dm the day after her surgery. Express that distance in feet.
4. Manuela is 5 ft 4 in tall. Express that height in cm. (Hint: first convert ft to in., and then convert to cm.)
Practice problemsRound your answers to one decimal point. Write your answers on you Lesson
Answer Sheet, then click to check your work.
1. The cafeteria tray measures 4.6 dm long by 3.7 dm wide.
2. The patient’s bed mattress is 79.9 in. long by 39 in. wide.
3. Mrs. Abudi walked 12 feet the day after her surgery.
4. Manuela is 162.6 cm tall.
Check your answers. Cross out any wrong answers and correct them on your answer sheet.
One final word on metric measurements for length and distance. You have practiced using the meter as the basic unit for measuring smaller
distances.If you were not working strictly in the
medical field, you would use the kilometer as your basic measuring unit
for longer distances.
One kilometer (km) is a little more than a mile and a half:
1km = 1.60934 mi
“Kilo-” is another Latin prefix that
means one thousandkilo- = 1000
Drivers in other parts of the world define driving speed in km per hour
(kph), not miles per hour (mph)!
Did you notice a new prefix too?
So, how big is one kilometer?
And 1 millimeter is one thousandth of a meter.
1 meter (m) Kilometer (km)1,000 meters
Did you say that a kilometer is equal to 1000 meters? You’re getting it now!
1 kilometer is one thousand meters…So now we know that:
1 meter (m) kilometer (km)1,000 meters
millimeter (mm)1/1,000 of a meter
1000 mm per m x 1000 m per km = 1,000,000 mm per km!!! So how many mm do you think are in 1 km?
Review and PracticeTurn in your first answer sheet to your coach. Then complete the following worksheets (you should have a print out of them):
Metric Unit Conversion English Unit Conversion Converting between Metric and English Units
Once you complete each worksheet, ask your coach for the answer key and correct your work. Don’t worry, you’ll only be graded for completion on this part.
Finally, click here to review some flash cards with all of the terms you learned in this lesson (you can also play games with the terms!):https://quizlet.com/100185097/math-module-22-length-measurements-flash-cards/
CONGRATULATIONS!You now have a good introduction to length
measurement in the metric and English systems, and how to do
conversions
Ready to take the quiz?