When multiplying conversion factors, make sure the only remaining units are the desired units.
About 63mi/h
Practice makes perfect
We are given that Seth traveled 1 mile in 57.1 seconds. We want to find about how fast Seth travels in miles per hour. This means that we need to change miles per second into miles per hour.
1 mi/57.1 s=mi/1 h
Let's start by organizing the relationships between the units in a table.
Starting Unit
Converted Unit
Unit Ratio
60 seconds
1minute
60s/1min
60minutes
1 hour
60min/1h
To perform this conversion, we need to multiply the unit rate 1mi57.1s 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 Set travels at a speed of about 63 miles per hour.
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.
