Lesson 13 — Activity 2: Mass


Getting Ready



In this activity, you will learn to convert masses from metric measures to imperial measures.



Remember that mass is the amount of material or matter in an object, and "weight" is often used when referring to mass.


Think about This:


Weight is a measurement of how gravity affects mass. Weight changes as the force of gravity changes.
Mass does not change from place to place.
For example, the moon is approximately 1/5 the mass of the Earth. The weight of an object on the moon would be about 1/5 of the weight of the same object on Earth. This is because the gravitational pull on the moon is less. But the mass (amount of matter) is the same on the moon as on Earth.
(Adapted from K&E Studio.)  
Mass does not change from place to place.


There are three main conversions when dealing with converting mass from metric measures to imperial measures. They are:
  • grams to ounces
  • kilograms to pounds
  • metric tons to short tons


To convert from grams (g) to ounces (oz), use the formula:

# of grams x 0.035 =


For example, if you wanted to know how many ounces were in 454 grams, you would calculate it this way:

454 x 0.035 = 15.89 oz

To convert from kilograms (kg) to pounds (lb), use the formula:

# of kilograms x 2.202 =


For example, if you wanted to know how many pounds were in 200 kilograms, you would calculate it this way:

200 x 2.202 = 440.4 lb



This car weighs 1 metric ton.
To convert from metric tons (t) to short tons (T), use the formula:

# of metric tons x 1.103 =


For example, if you wanted to know how many short tons were in 20 metric tons, you would calculate it this way:

20 x 1.103 =22.06 T


Try this:


Convert the following (use a calculator):


5 kilograms = ____ pounds
500 grams = ____ ounces
50 metric tons = ____ short tons

5 kilograms = 11.01 pounds
500 grams = 17.5 ounces
50 metric tons = 55.15 short tons


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