manipulating units help

himani1989

can somebody explain to me how to answer this question because im so confused
Calculate the following: 36 kg cm ^−3 / 64 cm ^−2

Reply 1

TypicalNerd

Original post by himani1989

can somebody explain to me how to answer this question because im so confused
Calculate the following: 36 kg cm ^−3 / 64 cm ^−2

How familiar are you with index laws?

The important ones to remember for unit manipulation are as follows:

p^a x p^b = p^(a + b)

p^a / p^b = p^(a - b)

(p^a)^b = p^(ab)

Now treat “cm” like how I’ve treated p in the above examples.

Reply 2

Nitrotoluene

You have to break down the ratio step by step:
You have to convert the (SI) units:
36 kg/cm^3 = 36,000 g/cm^3 (because 1 kg = 1,000 g)
64 cm^2 = 64 square centimetres
Now we can divide the converted values:
36,000 g/cm^3 : 64 cm^2 =.....

You can now do the division:
36,000 g/cm^3 ÷ 64 cm^2 = 562.5 g/cm = 7.81 ounce-inches
To give you an idea of the magnitude as you are used to the 'imperial system of measurement', I have converted 562.5 g/cm into ounce-inches.

Greetings from Italy,
Nitrotoluene

(edited 3 months ago)