The movie star arrived at the studio in a limousine that was 1,800 centimeters long. What is that length in meters?

Mar 24, 2016

$18 m$

Explanation:

To convert $1800 c m$ into metres, we must use a conversion factor. A conversion factor is a ratio expressed as a fraction equal to 1. We multiply the conversion factor by a measurement which allows us to change the units while keeping the original measurements the same.

Examples of common conversion factors:

• $1$ day$= 24$ hours
• $1$ minute$= 60$ seconds
• $1$ dozen$= 12$ things

$1$. We can use the conversion factor, $1$ metre$= 100$ centimetres, to change $1800$ $c m$ into metres. It is expressed as:

$\frac{1 m}{100 c m}$

$2$. Multiply $\frac{1 m}{100 c m}$ by $1800 c m$.

$1800 c m \cdot \frac{1 m}{100 c m}$

$3$. Notice how the unit, $c m$, cancels out in the numerator and denominator.

$= 1800 \textcolor{red}{\cancel{\textcolor{b l a c k}{c m}}} \cdot \frac{1 m}{100 \textcolor{red}{\cancel{\textcolor{b l a c k}{c m}}}}$

$4$. Solve.

$= \frac{1800 m}{100}$

$= \textcolor{g r e e n}{| \overline{\underline{\textcolor{w h i t e}{\frac{a}{a}} 18 m \textcolor{w h i t e}{\frac{a}{a}} |}}}$