10/22/2013

CHEMICAL PROCESS
PRINCIPLES
LECTURE- 05

UNIT CONVERSION CALCULATIONS

PROB-7
Problem:
Convert the length 56.43 ft to its equivalent in units of
metres.
Solution:
Conversion Factors
1 ft = 30.48 cm
1 m = 100 cm
Effective Strategy
So, an effective strategy would appear to
be
ft cm m

Answer: 17.20 m

PROB-8
Problem:
Highway regulations in a certain jurisdiction state that a truck with
two axles may have a maximum weight of 16000 pounds on the
front axle and 20000 pounds on the rear axle. Convert these
weights to their equivalents in kilograms, rounded to the nearest ten
kilograms.
Solution:
Conversion Factors
1 pound = 1 lb = 453.59237 g
1 kg = 1000 g
Effective Strategy
lb g kg
Answer: 9070 kg

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PROB-9
Problem:
According to one internet site, the distance from Vancouver, B. C. to
Hong Kong is 5550 nautical miles, as the crow flies. Ignoring the
question of whether any crow really could fly that far, determine what
this distance is in units of kilometres.
Solution:
Conversion Factors
1 nautical mile = 6080 feet
1 foot = 30.48 cm
Effective Strategy
naut. mi ft cm m km
Answer: 10300 km

PROB-10

Problem:
The speed limit on the Coquihalla Highway in British Columbia is
110 km/h. What is the equivalent speed in units of mi/h, rounded
down to the nearest multiple of 5?

Solution:
Conversion Factors
1 mi = 1.609344 km
Effective Strategy
km mi
Answer: 65 mi/h.

PROB-11
Problem:
According to the U. S. Department of Energy, the 2003 model of the
Chevrolet Malibu has a highway fuel economy rating of 29 mi/gal.
Assuming this is a reference to the U. S. gallon, compute the
equivalent value of this fuel consumption rate in units of km/L.
Round the answer to one decimal place.

Conversion Factors
1 gal = 3.785306 L
1 mi = 1.609344 km
Answer: 12.3 km/L.

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PROB-12

Problem:
A particularly fine variety of cheese is sold for $1.47 per ounce.
What is this price in dollars per kilogram?
Solution:
Conversion Factors
1 pound = 1 lb = 16 oz = 16 ounces
1 lb = 453.59237 g
Effective Strategy
oz lb g kg
Answer: $51.85 per kilogram.

PROB-13
Problem:
Horse race lengths are often measured in furlongs, where 8 furlongs is
equivalent to one mile. A fairly fast horse can run a 9 furlong race in about
1 minute and 45 seconds.
Compute the speed of this horse in km/h.
Conversion Factors
1 mi = 8 furlongs
1 mi = 1.609344 km
1 h = 60 min
1 min = 60 s
Effective Strategy
furlong mi km
s min h
Answer: 60.35 km/h

PROB-14
Problem:
A rectangular region of forest measuring 5.6 mi by 9.2 mi was
destroyed by fire. Compute the area of this region and express your
final answer in units of hectares.
Solution:
area of a rectangle
A = LW
Conversion Factors
1 hectare = 10 000 m2
1 mi = 5280 ft
1 ft = 30.48 cm
Effective Strategy
mi ft cm m
Answer: 13344 hectares.

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PROB-15

Problem:
The acceleration due to gravity near the earths surface (denoted
conventionally by the symbol g) is 9.81 m/s2. This means that the speed of
a falling object (in the absence of air resistance) will increase by 9.81 m/s
for each second of fall. Convert this value into units of ft/s2, and units of
km/h/s.

Answer:
32.2 ft/s2.
35.3 km/h/s.

PROB-16

Problem:
Typical barometric pressure as reported in Canada is 101 kPa = 101,000
N/m2. Convert this value to its equivalent in pounds per square inch, the
units used for barometric pressure in the United States.

Conversion Factors
1 N = 0.22480894 lb
1 in = 2.54 cm

Answer: 14.6 lb/in2.

PROB-17

Problem:
It is estimated that approximately 1.05 mi3 of rock was blasted into the
atmosphere as dust during the major eruption of Mt. St. Helens in May,
1980. To how many truckloads of 12 m3 each does this volume of rock
correspond?
Conversion Factors
1 mi = 5280 ft
1 ft = 30.48 cm
Appropriate strategy
mi ft cm m

Answer: 365 million truckloads!

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A more complex conversion

km to m
hr
s

80 km
hr

Step 1
Write down the
number and the
unit!

A more complex conversion

km to m
hr
s

80 km

1 hr

hr 3600 s
First well convert time. Our conversion factor is
1 hour = 3600 sec. Since we want hours to cancel
out, we put it on the top.

A more complex conversion

km to m
hr
s

80 km

1 hr 1000 m

hr 3600 s 1 km
Next we convert our distance from kilometers to
meters. The conversion factor is 1 km = 1000 m.
Since we want to get rid of km, this time it goes
on the bottom.

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A more complex conversion

km to m
hr
s

80 km

1 hr 1000 m

hr 3600 s 1 km

=m
s

Now comes the important step cancel and collect units.

If you have chosen the correct conversion factors, you
should only be left with the units you want to convert to.

A more complex conversion

km to m
hr
s

80 km

1 hr 1000 m

hr 3600 s 1 km
80,000 m
3600 s

Since the unit is correct, we

can now do the math simply
multiply all the numbers on the
top and bottom, then divide the
two.

A more complex conversion

km to m
hr
s

80 km

1 hr 1000 m

hr 3600 s 1 km
80,000 m
m
= 22 s
3600 s

The
Answer!!

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80 km/hr and 22 m/s are both

velocities.
A car that is moving at a velocity of
80 km/hr is traveling the
exact same velocity as a car
traveling at 22 m/s.

Conversion
factor:
Used to convert
a measured
quantity to a
different unit of
measure without
changing the
relative amount.

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Valid Units?
10 m
s

12 mile
hour

20 m

28 mile
hour

30 m 2
s

40 mile
hour