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# 7.19: Conversion of Customary Units by Dividing

Difficulty Level: At Grade Created by: CK-12
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Practice Conversion of Customary Units by Dividing
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Have you ever studied animals of the rainforest? Have you ever had to convert pounds to tons?

In learning about the rainforest, Michaela discovered that a hippopotamus lives in the sub - Sahara desert area of Africa. This area is considered part of a rainforest. The hippopotamus weighs about 10,000 pounds. Michaela is wondering how many tons that could be.

Do you know?

This Concept is all about converting customary units of measurement using division. That is exactly what Michaela will need to do. At the end of the Concept, you will be able to convert the hippopotamus' weight.

### Guidance

When converting from a larger unit to a smaller unit, we multiplied. When converting from a smaller unit to a larger unit, we divide by an equivalent unit.

Let’s look at the pennies again.

5000 pennies = ____ dollars

We know that there are 100 pennies in one dollar. This is the equivalent unit. If we divide 5000 by 100, we will have the number of dollars.

5000 $\div$ 100 $=$ 50 dollars

Let’s apply this to our work with measurement. Remember to think about the equivalent units of length, capacity and weight when dividing.

First, here are equivalence charts from earlier Concepts.

5500 pounds = ____ tons

A pound is smaller than a ton so we divide. There are 2000 pounds in 1 ton, that is our equivalent unit. We divide 5500 by 2000.

5500 $\div$ 2000 = 2.75 or $2\frac{3}{4}$ tons

Our answer is 2.75 or $2 \frac{3}{4}$ tons.

Take this information and apply it when converting the following units of measure.

#### Example A

84 inches = ____ feet

Solution: 7 feet

#### Example B

40 cups = ____ pints

Solution: 20 pints

#### Example C

800 pounds = ____ tons

Solution: .4 tons

Now back to Michaela and the rainforest. Here is the original problem once again.

Have you ever studied animals of the rainforest? Have you ever had to convert pounds to tons?

In learning about the rainforest, Michaela discovered that a hippopotamus lives in the sub - Sahara desert area of Africa. This area is considered part of a rainforest. The hippopotamus weighs about 10,000 pounds. Michaela is wondering how many tons that could be.

Do you know?

To convert this measurement, we first have to think about the equivalent conversion.

2000 pounds = 1 ton

The hippopotamus weighs 10,000 pounds. We need to convert this to tons.

Because we are going from a smaller unit to a larger unit, we divide.

$10,000 \div 2000 = 5$ tons

### Vocabulary

Here are the vocabulary words in this Concept.

Equivalent
equal amount or unit
Length
measuring how long something is-customary units are inches, feet, yards and miles
Weight
measuring how heavy something is-customary units are ounces, pounds and tons.
Capacity
measuring how much liquid something can hold-customary units are fluid ounces, cups, pints, quarts and gallons.

### Guided Practice

Here is one for you to try on your own.

1,250 inches = _____ feet

To solve this problem, we have to convert inches to feet. Let's think about the equivalent measurement.

12 inches = 1 foot

We divide the number of inches given by 12.

$1,250 \div 12 = 104.16$

We can round up to the nearest foot.

### Video Review

Here are videos for review.

### Practice

Directions: Convert each smaller unit of measure to its larger equivalent using division.

1. 6 quarts = ____ gallons

2. 24 inches = ____ feet

3. 18 inches = ____ feet

4. 4 quarts = ____ gallons

5. 12 pints = ____ quarts

6. 25 pints = ____ quarts

7. 1 quart = ____ gallons

8. 9 quarts = ____ gallons

9. 15 quarts = ____ gallons

10. 99 inches = ____ pints

11. 98 pints = ____ gallons

12. 12,000 pounds = ____ tons

13. 22,000 pounds = ____ tons

14. 5,000 pounds = ____ tons

15. 20,000 pounds = ____ tons

### Vocabulary Language: English

Capacity

Capacity

The volume of liquid an object or item can hold. Customary units of capacity include fluid ounces, cups, pints, quarts and gallons.
Equivalent

Equivalent

Equivalent means equal in value or meaning.
Length

Length

Length is a measurement of how long something is. Examples of customary units of length are inches, feet, yards and miles.
Weight

Weight

Weight is a measurement of the heaviness or mass of someone or something. The customary units of weight included ounces, pounds, and tons.

Oct 29, 2012

Apr 15, 2015