LONDON ACTIVITIES 1

Mathematics 4 ESO Option B

IMPERIAL UNITS1
The Imperial units are an irregularly standardized system of units that have been used in the United Kingdom and its former2 colonies, including the Commonwealth countries. The Imperial system is also called the British system. It is the primary3 alternative to the metric system. Today the Imperial units are widely used only in the United States, under the name of the U.S. customary units (and in some cases with different definitions). They have been replaced elsewhere4 by the SI (metric) system. Most Commonwealth countries have switched5 entirely to the SI system of units. The United Kingdom completed its legal transition to SI units in 1995, but a few such units are still in official use: for example, draught6 beer must still be sold in pints; most road sign distances are still in yards and miles, and speed limits are in miles per hour. The use of SI units is increasingly mandated by law for the retail7 sale of food and other commodities8, but most British people still use Imperial units in colloquial discussion of distance (miles and yards), speed (miles per hour), weight (stones and pounds), liquid (pints and gallons) and height (feet and inches). British law requires all cars to use miles. In the United States, the adjective imperial is only used with those new units of volume introduced in 1824, the imperial gallon and its subdivisions (pints, fluid ounces) and multiples (bushels, barrels). Most Imperial units had the same names as the units that are still predominantly used in the United States . Unfortunately, the detailed9 definitions differed, and in some cases the differences are substantial. A further difference between the systems in use in the two countries is that in cooking weights and measures, much more use is made of volume measures (cups and spoons) in the US, whereas in the UK quantities of dry ingredients are usually specified by weight; cup and spoon measurements are sometimes given, but these are not the same as the US standard cups and spoons.

This activity has been found on the blog: http://fina-maths3eso.blogspot.com/

former: antiguo primary: principal elsewhere: en otros sitios switch: cambiar draught beer: cerveza de barril retail sale: venta al por menor commodity: producto, artculo, mercanca detailed: detallado, minucioso, pormemorizado.

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LONDON ACTIVITIES 1

Mathematics 4 ESO Option B

IMPERIAL UNITS - Worksheet

Answer the following questions: 1) How are the Imperial Units called in the United States?

2) When did the United Kingdom complete its legal transition to the metric system?

3) Name three imperial units that are still in official use in the United Kingdom.

4) Does the British law require all cars to use kilometers?

5) Name three units that use the adjective imperial in the United States.

6) Name one difference between the systems used in the United Kingdom and the United States in cooking weights and measures.

7) Look for words in the text that match these definitions: _____________: something you can choose to do or use instead of something else. _____________: approved by the government or by someone else in authority. _____________: informal debate. _____________: a word that describes a noun or pronoun. _____________: foods that are used in the preparation of a particular dish.

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LONDON ACTIVITIES 1

Mathematics 4 ESO Option B

Metric and Imperial Conversion charts and tables

Length

Area

Volume

Mass

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LONDON ACTIVITIES 1

Mathematics 4 ESO Option B

Metric and Imperial Units

(This activity has been copied from GCSE Mathematics. The workbook (Higher Level))
Conversions 1 foot = 12 inches 1 yard = 3 feet 1 gallon = 8 pints 1 stone = 14 pounds (lbs) 1 pound = 16 ounces (oz) Approximate conversions 1 kg = 2.2 lbs 1litre = 1.75 pints 1 inch = 2.5 cm 1 foot = 30 cm 1 mile = 1.6 km (or 5 miles = 8 km) 1 gallon = 4.5 litres

1) Jeremy used a website to calculate his cars efficiency. He needed to enter the engine capacity in cubic centimeters, but only knew that it was 1.4 litres. What capacity should he have entered into the website? 2) Express the given quantity in the unit(s) in brackets: a) 4ft [in] b) 36 in [ft] c) 87 in [ft and in] d) 43 oz [lb and oz] 3) Convert 147 kg into pounds. 4) A horses drinking trough (abrevadero) holds 14 gallons of water. Approximately how many litres is this? 5) Deborah is filling in a health questionnaire. She needs to write down her weight in kilograms. She weighs 9 stone 4 pounds. How much does Deborah weigh in kilograms? 6) Barbara cycled 51 km in one day while Barry cycled 30 miles. Who cycled further? 7) A seamstress (costurera) needs to cut an 11 inch strip of finest Chinese silk. Approximately how many cm is this? 8) The priceless Greek statue in my garden is 21 feet tall. How many inches is this? How many yards is this? How many metres is this? 9) Dick is making The Wobbliest Jelly. The recipe requires 5 lb of sugar. How many 1 kg bags does Dick need to buy so that he can make the jelly? 10) At the gym Arnold can lift a barbell weighing 60 kg. Approximately how many lbs is this? How many ounces is this? Sylvester can lift a barbell weighing 10 stone. Who can lift the most?

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