Monday, July 23, 2018

The bulk density of a soil is 1.33g/cm cubed. What is its bulk density in kg/m cubed?

This is a problem of converting units. I prefer to do these with fractions. I first set up the unit I am starting with, and write the unit I want to get to.
(1.33g)/(1cm^3) ......   [kg]/m^3
Then, I multiply by fractions that cancel out the current units and get me to the units I need. For this example, I will start with the units of grams to kilograms.
[1.33g]/[1cm^3]*[1kg]/[1000g] .....    [kg]/m^3
I now have grams on the top and bottom, so they cancel, and because there are 1000 grams in a kilogram, I divided by 1000. Next, I convert the units of cm^3 to m^3. Because these are cubed, I will expand the numbers, just to be sure.
[1.33g]/[1cm*1cm*1cm]*[1kg]/[1000g]*[100cm*100cm*100cm]/[1m*1m*1m]  ......     [kg]/[m^3]
Each of the units will cancel out, leaving behind just the kg and m^3. All that is left is to do the math, giving you 1330[kg]/[m^3] .

No comments:

Post a Comment

Why is the fact that the Americans are helping the Russians important?

In the late author Tom Clancy’s first novel, The Hunt for Red October, the assistance rendered to the Russians by the United States is impor...