When multiplying conversion factors, make sure the only remaining units are the desired units.
0.65625gal/week
Practice makes perfect
We want to express 1.5 cups per day in gallons per week.
1.5 c/day= gal/week
This means that we need to change cups per day into gallons per week. Let's start by organizing the relationships between the units in a table.
Starting Unit
Converted Unit
Unit Ratio
16 cups
1 gallon
16c/1gal
7 days
1 week
7days/1week
To perform this conversion, we need to multiply the given value in cups per day by each unit ratio or its reciprocal. Remember, we want to arrange these ratios such that every unit we do not want gets canceled out, and only the units that we want will remain.
We found that the pipe is leaking at 0.65625 gallons per week.
Extra
Common Conversion Factors
Use the following tool to explore some of the most commonly used conversion factors. Conversions can be made both within or between the metric system and the imperial system, also known as the U.S. Customary System.
Around the world, people use conversion factors on a regular basis. You can read more about some practical applications of conversion factors in our original content.
