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3
Units of measurement and
applications
Syllabus topic — MM1 Units of measurement
and applications
Determine and convert appropriate units of measurement
Convert units of area and volume
Calculate the percentage error in a measurement
Use numbers in scientific notation
Express numbers to a certain number of significant figures
Calculate and convert rates
Find ratios of two quantities and use the unitary method
Calculate repeated percentage changes
73
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74 Preliminary Mathematics General
SI units
The SI is an international system of units of measurement based on multiples of ten. It is
a version of the metric system which allows easy multiplication when converting between
units. Units shown in red (below) are non-SI units approved for everyday or specialised use
alongside SI units.
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Chapter 3 — Units of measurement and applications 75
Solution
1 To change cm to mm multiply by 10. a 35 cm = 35 × 10 mm
= 350 mm
2 To change m to km divide by 1000. b 4500 = 4500 ÷ 1000 km
= 4.5 km
Solution
2 2
1m 100 cm or 1 c =
10 000
To convert volume units, change the side length units and compare the values for volume.
1m 1 m3 = 100 × 100 × 100 = 1 000 000 cm3
100 cm 1 m3 = 1000 000 cm3
1m =
3 3
100 cm or 1 c
1m 100 cm 1 000 000
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76 Preliminary Mathematics General
Exercise 3A
1 Complete the following.
a 5 cm m b 78 m c c 2 km m
d 890 m c e 57 f 6 km c
j 49 000 km k 22 000 m k l 51
d 8100 kg g e 4t g f 0 52 t kg
d 7800 kL L e 50 L mL f 300 kL mL
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Chapter 3 — Units of measurement and applications 77
11 There are three tonnes of grain in a truck. What is the mass if another 68 kg of grain is
added to the truck? Answer in kilograms.
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78 Preliminary Mathematics General
Development
12 A cyclist travels to and from work over a 1200-metre long bridge. Calculate the distance
travelled in a week if the cyclist works for 5 days. Answer in kilometres.
13 Madison travels 32 km to work each day. Her car uses 1 litre of petrol to travel 8 km.
a How many litres of petrol will she use to get to work?
b How many litres of petrol will she use for 5 days of work, including return travel?
2
c mm 2 d 1000 2 2
2 2
e 2000 f 5000 m 2 km 2
g 39 2 cm 2 h 310 km 2 m2
2
i 47 mm 2 j 74300 m 2 km 2
k 6500 2 2 l 4000 2 2
16 The area of a field is 80 000 square metres. Convert the area units to the following.
a Square kilometres b Hectares
18 Eliza worked from 10.30 a.m. until 4.00 p.m. on Friday, from 7.30 a.m. until 2.00 p.m.
on Saturday, and from 12 noon until 5.00 p.m. on Sunday.
a How many hours did Eliza work during the week?
b Express the time worked on Friday as a percentage of the total time worked during
the week. Answer correct to the nearest whole number.
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Chapter 3 — Units of measurement and applications 79
Accuracy in measurements
The smallest unit on the measuring instrument is
called the limit of reading. For example, a 30 cm 1 cm 2 3 4 5
rule with a scale for millimetres has a limit of
reading of 1 mm. The accuracy of a measurement is
Every measurement is an approximation and has an error. The absolute error is the difference
between the actual value and the measured value indicated by the instrument. The maximum
value for an absolute error is 1 of the limit of reading.
2
Relative error gives an indication of how good a measurement is relative to the size of the
quantity being measured. The relative error of a measurement is calculated by dividing the
limit of reading by the actual measurement. For example, the relative error for the above
( )
measurement is 0105 = 0 05. The relative error is often expressed as a percentage and
called the ‘percentage error’. For example, the percentage error for the above measurement
( )
is 0 5 × 100 = 5% .
10
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80 Preliminary Mathematics General
Ab lute Ab lute
100%
M t M t
reading.
5 Upper limit is the measured Upper limit = 38 + 0.5 = 38.5 mm
value plus 1 the limit of
2
reading. Ab lute e r
6 Write the formula for d Relative error = ± Meas ement
relative error.
Exercise 3B
1 Four measurements of length are shown on the ruler below.
A B C D
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
0 0
4.5 0.5 4.5 0.5
8 0 8 8 0 8
10lb 1lb 10lb 1lb
8 8 8 8
4kg 2lb 1kg 4kg 2lb 1kg
9lb 9lb
8 A 8 B 8
8
8lb 3lb 8lb 3lb
3.5 8 8 1.5 3.5 8 8 1.5
7lb 4lb 7lb 4lb
8 8 8 8
6lb 8 5lb 6lb 8 5lb
3kg 2kg 3kg 2kg
2.5 2.5
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82 Preliminary Mathematics General
Development
3 A dishwasher has a mass of exactly 49.6 kg. Abbey
measured the mass of the dishwasher as 50 kg to the nearest
kilogram.
a Find the absolute error.
b Find the relative error. Answer correct to three decimal
places.
c Find the percentage error to the nearest whole number.
6 A measurement was taken of a skid mark at the scene of a car accident. The actual length
of the skid mark was 25.15 metres, however it was measured as 25 metres.
a What is the absolute error?
b Find the relative error. Answer correct to three decimal places.
c Find the percentage error. Answer correct to one decimal place.
7 The length of a building at school is exactly 56 m. Cooper measured the length of the
building to be 56.3 m and Filip measured the building at 55.8 m.
a What is the absolute error for Cooper’s measurement?
b What is the absolute error for Filip’s measurement?
c Compare the relative error for both measurements. Answer correct to four decimal
places.
d Compare the percentage error for both measurements. Answer correct to three
decimal places.
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Chapter 3 — Units of measurement and applications 83
Solution
1 The first two non-zero digits are 1 and 5. 1.534
2 Place the decimal point between these numbers.
3 Count the digits from the old decimal point (end of 1.53 400 000 − eight digits
the number) to position of the new decimal point.
4 Large number indicates the power of 10 is positive. Power of 10 is +8 or 8
5 Write in scientific notation. 153 400 000 = 1.534 × 108
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84 Preliminary Mathematics General
Significant figures
Significant figures are used to specify the accuracy of a number. It is often used to round a
number. Significant figures are the digits that carry meaning and contribute to the accuracy of
the number. This includes all the digits except the zeros at the start of a number and zeros at
the finish of a number without a decimal point. These zeros are regarded as placeholders and
only indicate the size of the number. Consider the following examples.
• 51.340 has four significant figures: 5, 1, 3 and 4.
• 0.00871 has three significant figures: 8, 7 and 1.
• 56091 has five significant figures: 5, 6, 0, 9 and 1.
The significant figures in a number not containing a decimal point can sometimes be unclear.
For example, the number 8000 may be correct to 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 significant figures. To prevent
this problem, the last significant figure of a number is underlined. For example, the number
8000 has two significant figures. If the digit is not underlined the context of the problem is a
guide to the accuracy of the number.
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Chapter 3 — Units of measurement and applications 85
Exercise 3C
1 Write these numbers in scientific notation.
a 7600 b 1 700 000 000
c 590 000 d 6 800 000
e 35 000 f 310 000 000
g 77 100 000 h 523 000 000 000
i 95 400 000 000
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86 Preliminary Mathematics General
7 Convert a measurement of 5.81 × 10−3 grams into kilograms. Express your answer in
scientific notation.
13 Convert a measurement of 2654 kilograms into centigrams. Express your answer correct
to two significant figures.
14 Convert a measurement of 4 239 810 milligrams into grams. Express your answer correct
to four significant figures.
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Chapter 3 — Units of measurement and applications 87
Development
15 If y 2
x 2 , find the value of y when:
θ
16 The arc length of a circle is l r where θ is the angle at the centre and r is the
2
360
radius of the circle. Use this formula to calculate the arc length of a circle when θ = 30°
and r = 7.4 × 108. Answer in scientific notation correct to one significant figure.
18 Use the formula E = md2 to find d correct to three significant figures given that:
a m = 0.08 and E = 5.5 × 109 b m = 2.7 × 103 and E = 1.6 × 104
20 Light travels at 300 000 kilometres per second. Convert this measure to metres per
second and express this speed in scientific notation.
21 Use the formula E = 3p − q to evaluate E given that p = 7.5 × 105 and q = 2.5 × 104.
Answer in scientific notation correct to one significant figure.
22 The volume of a cylinder is V = πr2h where r is the radius of the cylinder and h is the
height of the cylinder. Use this formula to calculate the volume of the cylinder if
r = 5.6 × 104 and h = 2.8 × 103. Answer in scientific notation correct to three significant
figures.
23 The Earth is 1.496 × 108 km from the Sun. Calculate the distance travelled by the Earth
13.3
in a year using the formula c = 2πr. Answer in scientific notation correct to two
significant figures.
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88 Preliminary Mathematics General
When simplifying a ratio with fractions, multiply each of the amounts by the lowest common
denominator. For example, to simplify 1 : multiply both sides by 8. This results in the
3
8 4
equivalent ratio of 1:6.
Ratio
A ratio is used to compare amounts of the same units in a definite order.
Equivalent ratios are obtained by multiplying or dividing by the same number.
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Chapter 3 — Units of measurement and applications 89
Mikhail and Ilya were given $450 by their grandparents to share in the ratio 4:5. How much
did each person receive?
Solution
1 Calculate the total number of parts by adding each Total p ts = 4 + 5 9
amount in the ratio (4 parts to 5 parts). 9 p ts $450
2 Divide the quantity ($450) by the total number of $450
1 p t= = $50
parts (9 parts) to determine the value of one part. 9
3 Multiply each amount of the ratio by the result in 4 p ts = 4 × $50 $200
4 Evaluate. 84 km
5 Write answer to an appropriate degree of accuracy.
6 Write the answer in words. The car travels 84 km.
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90 Preliminary Mathematics General
Exercise 3D
1 Express each ratio in simplest form.
a 15:3 b 10:40 c 24:16
d 14:30 e 8:12 f 49:14
g 9:18:9 h 5:10:20 i 1
3
1 1 2 3 3
j : k : l 1
2 5 3 7 4
2 A delivery driver delivers 1 parcel on average every 20 minutes. How many hours does it
take to drop 18 parcels?
4 A bag of 500 grams of chocolates is divided into the ratio 7:3. What is the mass of the
smaller amount?
5 At a concert there were 7 girls for every 5 boys. How many girls were in the audience
of 8616?
6 Molly, Patrick and Andrew invest in a business in the ratio 6:5:1. The total amount
invested is $240 000. How much was invested by the following people?
a Molly b Patrick c Andrew
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Chapter 3 — Units of measurement and applications 91
Development
10 A punch is made from pineapple juice, lemonade and passionfruit in the ratio 3:5:2.
a How much lemonade is needed if one litre of pineapple juice is used?
b How much pineapple juice is required to make 10 litres of punch?
11 Angus, Ruby and Lily share an inheritance of $500 000 in the ratio of 7:5:4. How much
will be received by the following people?
a Angus b Ruby c Lily
12 Samantha and Mathilde own a restaurant. Samantha gets 3 of the profits and Mathilde
5
13 A jam is made by adding 5 parts fruit to 4 parts of sugar. How much fruit should be
added to 2 2 kilograms of sugar in making the jam?
14 A local council promises to spend $4 for every $3 raised in public subscriptions for a
community hall. The cost of the hall is estimated at $1.75 million. How much does the
community need to raise?
15 The ratio of $5 to $10 notes in Stephanie’s purse is 3:5. There are 24 notes altogether.
What is the total value of Stephanie’s $5 notes?
16 Nathan makes a blend of mixed lollies using 5 kg jelly babies, 4 kg licorice and 1 kg
skittles. What is the cost of the blend per kilogram to the nearest cent?
Mixed lollies
Jelly babies $5.95 per kg
Licorice $6.95 per kg
Skittles $11.90 per kg
17 The three sides of a triangle are in the ratio of 2:3:4. The longest side of the triangle is
12.96 mm. What is the perimeter of the triangle?
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92 Preliminary Mathematics General
Converting a rate
1 Write the rate as a fraction. First quantity is the numerator and 1 is the denominator.
2 Convert the first amount to the required unit.
3 Convert the second amount to the required unit.
4 Simplify the fraction.
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Chapter 3 — Units of measurement and applications 93
Concentrations
A concentration is a measure of how much of a given substance is mixed with another
substance. Concentrations are a rate that has particular applications in nursing and agriculture.
It often involves mixing chemicals. Concentrations may be expressed as:
• weight per weight such as 10 g/100 g
• weight per volume such as 5 g/10 mL
• volume per volume such as 20 mL/10 L.
A medicine is given as a concentration of 2.5 mL per 10 kg. What is the dosage rate for this
medicine in mL/kg?
Solution
1 Write the rate as a fraction. 2.5 mL
2 The numerator is 2.5 mL and the denominator is 2.5 mL/10 kg =
10 kg
10 kg. 2.5 mL
3 Divide the numerator by the denominator. = ×
10 kg
4 Evaluate. 0 25 mL/kg
5 Write answer to an appropriate degree of
accuracy.
6 Write the answer in words. The dosage rate is 0.25 mL/kg.
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94 Preliminary Mathematics General
Exercise 3E
1 Use the rate provided to answer the following questions.
a Cost of apples is $2.50/kg. What is the cost of 5 kg?
b Tax charge is $28/m². What is the tax for 7 m2?
c Cost savings are $35/day. How much is saved in 5 days?
d Cost of a chemical is $65/100 mL. What is the cost of 300 mL?
e Cost of mushrooms is $5.80/kg. What is the cost of 21 kg?
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Chapter 3 — Units of measurement and applications 95
Development
6 A tap is dripping water at a rate of 70 drops per minute. Each drop is 0.2 mL.
a How many millilitres of water drip from the tap in one minute?
b How many litres of water drip from the tap in a day?
8 Olivia’s council rate is $2915 p.a. for land valued at $265 000. Lucy has a council rate of
$3186 on land worth $295 000 from another council.
a What is Olivia’s council charge as a rate of $/$1000 valuation?
b What is Lucy’s council charge as a rate of $/$1000 valuation?
9 Mira’s car uses 9 litres of petrol to travel 100 kilometres. Petrol costs $1.50 per litre.
a What is the cost of travelling 100 kilometres?
b How far can she drive using $50 worth of petrol? Answer to the nearest kilometre.
11 A plane travelled non-stop from Los Angeles to Sydney, a distance of 12 027 kilometres
in 13 hours and 30 minutes. The plane started with 180 kilolitres of fuel, and on landing
had enough fuel to fly another 45 minutes.
a What was the plane’s average speed in kilometres per hour? Answer to the nearest
whole number.
b How much fuel was used? Answer to the nearest kilolitre.
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96 Preliminary Mathematics General
The retail price of a toaster is $36 and is to be increased by 5%. What is the new price?
Solution
1 Add the 5% increase to 100%. 100% + 5% = 105%
2 Write the quantity (new price) to be found. New pri 105% of $36
3 Multiply the above percentage (105%) by the = × 36
amount. $37.80
4 Evaluate and write using correct units.
6 Write the quantity (new price) to be found. New pri 80% of $90
7 Multiply the above percentage (80%) by the = × 90
amount. $72
8 Evaluate and write using correct units.
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Chapter 3 — Units of measurement and applications 97
Exercise 3F
1 What is the amount of the increase in each of the following?
a Increase of 10% on $48 b Increase of 30% on $120
c Increase of 15% on $66 d Increase of 25% on $88
e Increase of 40% on $1340 f Increase of 36% on $196
g Increase of 4.5% on $150 h Increase of 12 % on $24
4 A manager has decided to award a salary increase of 6% for all employees. Find the new
salary awarded on the following amounts.
a Salary of $46 240
b Salary of $94 860
c Salary of $124 280
d Salary of $64 980
5 Molly has a card that entitles her to a 2.5% discount at the store where she works.
How much will she pay for the following items?
a Vase marked at $190
b Cutlery marked at $240
c Painting marked at $560
d Pot marked at $70
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98 Preliminary Mathematics General
Development
6 A used car is priced at $18 600 and offered for sale at a discount of 15%.
a What is the discounted price of the car?
b The car dealer decides to reduce the price of this car by another 15%. What is the
new price of the car?
7 Find the repeated percentage change on the following.
a Increase $100 by 20% and then decrease the result by 20%.
b Increase $280 by 10% and then increase the result by 5%.
c Decrease $32 by 50% and then increase the result by 25%. d
Decrease $1400 by 5% and then decrease the result by 5%. e
Increase $960 by 15% and then decrease the result by 10%.
f Decrease $72 by 12.5% and then increase the result by 33 3 % .
8 An electronic store offered a $30 discount on a piece of software marked at $120. What
percentage discount has been offered?
9 The cost price of a sound system is $480. Retail stores have offered a range of successive
discounts. Calculate the final
price of the sound system at
the following stores.
a Store A: Increase of
10% and then a decrease
of 5%
b Store B: Increase of
40% and then a decrease
of 50%
c Store C: Increase of
25% and then a decrease
of 15%
d Store D: Increase of
30% and then a decrease
of 60%
10 The price of a clock has been reduced from $200 to $180.
a What percentage discount has been applied?
b Two months later the price of the clock was increased by the same percentage
discount. What is new price of the clock?
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Chapter 3 — Units of measurement and applications 99
Review
Chapter summary – Units of measurement and applications Study guide 3
Converting a rate 1 Write the rate as a fraction. First quantity is the numerator
and 1 is the denominator.
2 Convert the first amount to the required unit.
3 Convert the second amount to the required unit.
4 Simplify the fraction.
Percentage change 1 Add the % increase or subtract the % decrease from 100%.
2 Multiply the above percentage by the amount.
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Review 100 Preliminary Mathematics General
5 The ratio of adults to children in a park is 5:9. How many adults are in the park if there are
630 children?
A 70 B 126 C 280 D 350
6 A 360 gram lolly bag is divided in the ratio 7:5. What is the mass of the smaller amount?
A 150 g B 168 g C 192 g D 210 g
7 A hose fills a 10 L bucket in 20 seconds. What is the rate of flow in litres per hour?
A 0.0001 B 30 C 1800 D 7200
10 What is the new price when $80 is increased by 20% then decreased by 20%?
A $51.20 B $76.80 C $80.00 D $115.20
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Chapter 3 — Units of measurement and applications 101
3 A field has a perimeter of exactly 400 m. Lily measured the field to be 401.2 m using a
long tape marked in 0.1 m intervals.
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Review
Review 102 Preliminary Mathematics General
a 10 kg b 40 kg c 3 kg
d 7 kg e 500 g f 250 g
12 A car travels 960 km on 75 litres of petrol. How far does it travel on 50 litres?
13 Daniel and Ethan own a business and share the profits in the ratio 3:4.
a The profit last week was $3437. How much does Daniel receive?
b The profit this week is $2464. How much does Ethan receive?
14 Jill has a shareholder card that entitles her to a 5% discount at a supermarket. How much
will she pay for the following items? Answer to the nearest cent.
a Breakfast cereal at $7.60 b Milk at $4.90
c Coffee at $14.20 d Cheese at $8.40
15 An electrician is buying a light fitting for $144 at a hardware store. He receives a clearance
discount of 15% then a trade discount of 10%. How much does the electrician pay for the
light fitting?
Challenge questions 3
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