Math Conversion-Metric system Help!!!!!!!

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hi! I am really having a hard time with the metric system. I am taking biology in the Fall and I just cant figure out these metric conversions. Can anyone please recomend sites, books, notes, etc, that will help me understand how to do math conversions? Thanks in advance.

How will I solve

0.33m to cm to mm to feet

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Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.

1 m = 100 cm, 2.54 cm = 1 inch, 1 foot = 12 inches. You can skip the mm because it's not necessary to go to mm to get to inches.

0.33 m x (100 cm/1 meter) x (1 inch/2.54 cm) x (1 foot/12 inches) = 1.1 feet

There are certain conversions that you're just going to need to memorize, especially for Pharmacology so you can do proper medication dosaging. E.g. pounds to kg, teaspoons to mL, etc.

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Use dimensional analysis to easily convert. It's the easiest way to see if you're going the right direction. If 1 kilogram = 1000 grams and 1 gram = 1000 milligrams, how many milligrams are in a 0.005 kilogram sample? Set up your dimensional analysis by converting these to fractions and cancel out the unnecessary factors. You're given a 0.005 kilogram sample and you need to end up with milligrams. Set up your conversion in order as follows

0.005 kilograms x (1000 grams/1 kilogram) x (1000 milligrams/1 gram) = 5000 milligrams

See how the kilograms cancel each other out and the grams cancel each other out in the fractions? That's how you get from kilograms to milligrams. You can do this with ANY conversion and will be of the utmost importance when you take Pharmacology and have to determine dosaging equations, especially for IV drips!

You will also use this extensively in Chemistry (grams per mol, mol per liter, etc.)

Sopranokris I am able to convert certain problems I am having problems converting some problems like: gallons to liters or lbs to kg g to oz feet to yard. What are the basic measurements that I need to memorize?

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Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.

1 kg = 2.2 pounds

1 yard = 3 feet

1 gallon = 3.79 liters

1 inch = 2.54 cm

1 teaspoon = 5 mL

1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons

1 tablespoon = 15 mL

1 mile = 1.6 kilometers

These are the most commonly used conversions that I've run across in all my sciences. You'll also need to know the relationship of the metric system units (e.g. 1 kilo = 100 centi = 1000 milli = 1000000 micro are use most often)

So, if you are given a questions where you have a patient who weighs 147 pounds and needs to receive 20mg/kg of a certain medication, what would the dosage be?

147 pounds x (1 kg/2.2 pounds) x (20 mg/1kg) = 1336.3 mg (in real life you would round up or down accordingly, so 1336 mg)

What about an infant who weighs 5.45 kg and needs an oral medication of 0.25 teaspoon per pound. How many mL do you administer?

5.45 kg x (2.2 pounds/1 kg) x (0.25 tsp/1 pound) x (5 mL/1 tsp) = 14.98 or approx. 15 mL

Is it making more sense now? I wish I could type it as a mathematical formula and display the units cancelling. It's easier to understand as a picture.

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1 kg = 2.2 pounds

1 yard = 3 feet

1 gallon = 3.79 liters

1 inch = 2.54 cm

1 teaspoon = 5 mL

1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons

1 tablespoon = 15 mL

1 mile = 1.6 kilometers

These are the most commonly used conversions that I've run across in all my sciences. You'll also need to know the relationship of the metric system units (e.g. 1 kilo = 100 centi = 1000 milli = 1000000 micro are use most often)

So, if you are given a questions where you have a patient who weighs 147 pounds and needs to receive 20mg/kg of a certain medication, what would the dosage be?

147 pounds x (1 kg/2.2 pounds) x (20 mg/1kg) = 1336.3 mg (in real life you would round up or down accordingly, so 1336 mg)

What about an infant who weighs 5.45 kg and needs an oral medication of 0.25 teaspoon per pound. How many mL do you administer?

5.45 kg x (2.2 pounds/1 kg) x (0.25 tsp/1 pound) x (5 mL/1 tsp) = 14.98 or approx. 15 mL

Is it making more sense now? I wish I could type it as a mathematical formula and display the units cancelling. It's easier to understand as a picture.

Can you give a couple more examples sorry if I am being a pain but I really need to learn this

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Dimensional Analysis has saved me in nursing math and chemistry! If you can master dimensional analysis then you can do any conversion out there! When I was having trouble with something I just googled it and a whole bunch of sites and even videos came up. Some of them were VERY helpful and others not so much. " Tyler Dewitt's" videos (on you tube) really helped me with calculations I'm Chemistry. I don't know what subject your asking about but I think he has one on dimensional analysis if you want to try to look it up. Good luck!!

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Dimensional Analysis has saved me in nursing math and chemistry! If you can master dimensional analysis then you can do any conversion out there! When I was having trouble with something I just googled it and a whole bunch of sites and even videos came up. Some of them were VERY helpful and others not so much. " Tyler Dewitt's" videos (on you tube) really helped me with calculations I'm Chemistry. I don't know what subject your asking about but I think he has one on dimensional analysis if you want to try to look it up. Good luck!!

I have to take general bio and intro to chem

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I have to take general bio and intro to chem

I just completed intro. to chem. I won't lie it was tough, probably the hardest class I've had so far. But its doable as long as you keep up and study hard. Go to you tube and search Tyler Dewitt. He is a chemistry teacher and does a lot of videos for the stuff that you will be seeing. He explains it step by step. It makes it easier to understand IMO. There are actually a lot of videos from different people if he don't work for you. I guess it just depends on what kind of learner you are. I am a visual learner so I have to see it done to understand it. And my chemistry professor showed us but in a very confusing way that sounded like a foreign language! Good luck in your classes!

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I just completed intro. to chem. I won't lie it was tough, probably the hardest class I've had so far. But its doable as long as you keep up and study hard. Go to you tube and search Tyler Dewitt. He is a chemistry teacher and does a lot of videos for the stuff that you will be seeing. He explains it step by step. It makes it easier to understand IMO. There are actually a lot of videos from different people if he don't work for you. I guess it just depends on what kind of learner you are. I am a visual learner so I have to see it done to understand it. And my chemistry professor showed us but in a very confusing way that sounded like a foreign language! Good luck in your classes!

Thank you I looked at you tube and the sites given. I Just get tripped up as far as what to use when setting up dimensional analysis problems to solve I printed some worksheets to help me study them

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Thank you I looked at you tube and the sites given. I Just get tripped up as far as what to use when setting up dimensional analysis problems to solve I printed some worksheets to help me study them

I know what you mean. I am not good with calculations either. Just practice every free minute you have and you will do fine. The most important thing to remember is don't get discouraged. We all have trouble, college is hard! But hard work pays off.

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I know what you mean. I am not good with calculations either. Just practice every free minute you have and you will do fine. The most important thing to remember is don't get discouraged. We all have trouble, college is hard! But hard work pays off.

Thanks for the encouragement

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