Even though the (Canadian) high school student grows up in a metric environment, the trades use both systems. \u00a0Moreover, the tutor likely grew up in the 70s, so still thinks as much in imperial as metric.<\/p>\n
With a calculator, of course, you can easily convert any measurement to any other. Nowadays, you can just key a measurement into your browser and it will return the conversion. \u00a0In summer, however, such questions seem to arrive more often in everyday life – possibly when you’re not at your computer.<\/p>\n
So, both for those in summer school, as well as those who might find these tricks useful in every day life, here are some simple conversions you can do in your head. While not exact (I think the temp conversion is<\/em>), they get you within 2% of the answer.<\/p>\n kg to pounds: \u00a0double it, then add 10% of the answer.<\/strong><\/p>\n example: \u00a077 kg to pounds<\/p>\n step 1: \u00a0double the mass in kg: \u00a077 times 2 = 154.<\/p>\n step 2: \u00a0add 10% more. \u00a015.4 + 154= 169.4<\/p>\n So, 77kg is 169.4lbs.<\/p>\n metres to yards: \u00a0just add 10%.<\/strong><\/p>\n 55m is 55 + 5.5 or 60.5 yards.<\/p>\n inches to cm: \u00a0multiply by 5, then divide by 2.<\/strong><\/p>\n 4 inches = 5(4)\u00f72 = 10cm.<\/p>\n Fahrenheit to Celsius:<\/strong><\/p>\n This conversion comes up a lot, but there is no convenient way without a calculator. You subtract 32 from the Fahrenheit, then divide by 1.8.<\/p>\n Example: \u00a0Convert 80F to C<\/p>\n step 1: \u00a080-32=48<\/p>\n step 2: \u00a048\u00f71.8=27 (rounded to the nearest whole degree).<\/p>\n So, 80F is 27C.<\/p>\n Here’s an irony about summer measurements: \u00a0According to Wikipedia,<\/a> the Canadian football field is 110 yards, whereas the American is 100. \u00a0However, the Canadian football field is<\/em> 100 m (since going from metres to yards you just add 10%). \u00a0So the American and Canadian are both 100 long in their own units.<\/p>\n