Common Conversion Factors for Physics and Chemistry Students:
One of the first topics taught in a typical chemistry or physics course is unit conversion. When solving science problems related to math, you need to know how to convert from one unit to another.
For instance, let’s say that you wish to calculate how long (in seconds) it will take for a car traveling at 60 miles per hour to arrive at a city that is 150 kilometers away. To solve this problem using the formula D = Vt or d = rt, you have to know how to convert between miles and kilometers. In addition, you need to know the conversion factor that connects those two units together.
Here is a list of common conversion factors that you will most likely encounter in chemistry and physics:
Here is a list of conversion factors associated with time as well the prefixes of units that are part of the metric system:
To set up the conversion factor when dealing with units in the metric system, put a 1 in front of the prefix attached to the base unit and set that equal to the corresponding multiplier and the base unit.
Here are some examples:
1 TW = 1 x 10^12 W
1 GJ = 1 x 10^9 J
1 Kg = 1 x 10^3 g
1 cm = 1 x 10^–2 m
Here is a video that provides plenty of examples that show how to convert from one unit into another:
