Should I memorize all these unit conversions to solve simple problems ?!

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1 Answer
Aug 18, 2017

I would not recommend doing this.

Explanation:

  • It may be useful to you to memorize a few basic conversions, such as those between units of feet and meters, or centimeters and inches (kg and pounds, etc.) because it will make problem-solving faster if you don't have to constantly refer to a table, but memorizing an entire table will often be a waste of your time.

Note that the more you have to convert between units, the more the conversions will stick without having to actively try to memorize them.

  • Unless it is stated that you will not be given conversions on an exam or not provided with a conversion table, I wouldn't bother trying to memorize these. You will more than likely have access to them on a test (unless otherwise stated), and will more than likely have access to them at a future job if/when needed.

You should know your conversions when it comes to prefixes, such as knowing that, for example, meters is a base unit, and one #color(blue)("mili")#meter is #1//1000# of a meter, or that one #color(blue)("kilo")#meter is one thousand meters. Also be sure to recognize the symbol used to represent each prefix. These types of conversions may not be provided to you.

Tripod: The International System of Units