Conversion from English to SI-units
English unit
Acre
Symbol
ac
1
640
Definition
of square mile
Relation to SI-unit
1 ac  4050 m2
Degree Fahrenheit
0
Foot
ft
12 inches or 1
Gallon
gal
Volume of 10 lb of water.
1 gal  4,55 l
Horsepower
hp
Approximate power of a horse.
1 hp  746 W
Inch
in
of foot or 1
of yard
1
12
36
1 in  2,54 cm
Knot
kn
Speed of 1,151 miles per hour.
1 kn  1,85 kmh1
Mile
mi
5280 feet or 1760 yards
1 mi  1609 m
Ounce
(fluid ounce)
oz
fl oz
1
16
Pint
pt
1
Pound
lb
16 ounces
Pound per square inch
psi
1 pound of force applied to 1 inch
Square foot
Square inch
sq ft
sq in
Area of a square with sides of 1 foot.
Area of a square with sides of 1 inch.
Stone
st
14 pounds
1 sq ft  0,093 m2
1 sq in  6,5 cm 2
1 st  6,35 kg
Yard
yd
3 feet or 36 inches
1 yd  0,91 m
F
0
0
Water freezes at 32 F and boils at 212 F.
8
3
0
F  0C 
9
 32
5
1 ft  0,31 m
of yard
1 oz  28 g ,
1 fl oz  28 ml
1 pt  0,57 l
of pound
of gallon
1 lb  0,45 kg
2
1 psi  6900 Pa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_units
1. ACRE
The acre(ac) is a unit of area and is derived from an Old English word for open field. During the
Middle Ages, an acre was the amount of land that could be ploughed in one day with
a yoke of oxen, which was _______________ (approximate) 4840 square yards.
2. DEGREE FAHRENHEIT
Fahrenheit (°F) is a temperature scale based on proposal of German_______________
(physics) D. Fahrenheit (18th century). He developed his scale using 3 reference points - temperature of
freezing salt water (brine – commonly used for preserving food, 0 0F), temperature of freezing still water
0
0
(32 F) and temperature of human body (96 F).On this scale the boiling temperature of still water is 212
0
F. This puts the boiling and freezing points of water_______________(exact) 180 degrees apart.
3. FOOT
The foot (ft) is a unit of _______________ (long) dating back to ancient Egypt.It was introduced to Britain by the
Romans. As the name implies it's a length of average human foot. Foot size is proportional to human _______________
(high), so different values of foot were used in different regions. British foot was established in the 13 th century, probably
by King Henry III. It was defined as the length of his foot (with a shoe).
4. GALLON
The gallon (gal) is a measure of volume and was used in the Middle Ages for measuring the amount of
wine and beer. British gallon (different than US gallon) is defined as the volume of 10 pounds of water
at 62 0F.
5. HORSEPOWER
Horsepower (hp) is the unit for measuring power, the rate at which work is done. The term was adopted in
the 18th century by Scottish engineer James Watt. In order to advertise the power of his steam engine for
pumping water from mine shafts, he comparedit with the power of horses. His estimate of horse power was
a bit high, because he disregarded the time – animals cannot work_______________(indefinite), but still,
the unit took on. An average human can produce briefly 0,3hp for a period of several hours.
6. INCH
Inch (in) is a unit of length dating back to the 7th century. At first it was defined as the length of 3 grains
of barley (England) or as the _______________ (wide) of an average man's thumb (Scotland). One
millennium later _______________ (mathematics) argued that these values cannot be fixed, so they
introduced a more reliable definition: an inch is 1 of foot or 1 of yard.
12
36
7. KNOT
The knot (kn) is a unit of speed used in meteorology, naval and air navigation. It was developed by English
sailors – knowing your speed was crucial to determine your position and navigate through unknown seas.
First a sailor would cast a wooden floater attached to a rope from the moving vessel into the water. The rope
had knots placed at a fixed _______________ (distant). He then counted how many knots passed through
his fingers in a period of 30 seconds. The time was measured by another sailor using sandglass. A modern
definition of knot is the speed of one nautical mile per hour.
8. MILE
A mile (mi) is a unit of length commonly used all around the world. It was introduced by the Romans.
Their armies measured the travelling distance by paces (two steps), so a mile meant _______________
(literal) 1000 paces. A value of mile varies from country to country. Most often used today are land mile
(1760 yards) and nautical mile (2025 yards).
9. OUNCE
The ounce (oz) is a unit of mass and volume, dating to the Middle Ages. It has _______________ (probable) more
definitions and variations than any other unit. The value of ounce depends on historical era, region and even profession
(physics, pharmacy, engineering…). The most commonly used today is approximately 28 grams for mass or 28 ml for
volume (fluid ounce).
10. PINT
The pint (pt) is a unit of volume primarily used as a measure for olive oil, draught beer and cider. The
imperial pint is slightly over ½ litre, but the value varies between countries from ¼ to over 1 litre. There
were numerous incidents in Canadian pubs some years ago, when the government replaced the French pint
(0,95l) by imperial pint (0,57 l).
11. POUND
The pound (lb) is a unit of mass and _______________ (weigh) first used by the Romans, mainly for weighting precious
metals. In medieval England one pound was the mass of 120 Arabic silver coins. Around 250 British silver pennies were
minted from one pound of pure (sterling) silver. The British monetary pound (£) is _______________ (history) linked
with the minting of these coins.
12. STONE
The stone (st) is a unit of mass dating from ancient times, when stone weights were used for trading
purposes. The Romans started using uniform stones to standardize the value of one stone. These prototypes
were located in many important cities to unify trading between different provinces. Nowadays stone is used
in Great Britain and Ireland _______________ (primary) for measuring human body weight.
13. YARD
A yard (yd) is an old unit of length. The precise origin of the measure is not definitely known. Different
theories suggest that yard represents either the length of one step or the girth of human waist. The British
claim that this measure was invented by King Henry I (12th century) as being the distance between the tip
of his nose and the end of his thumb.
Convert Imperial units to metric
TASK1 A WEATHER FORECAST
London - Tuesday 2 July 2013
Today: Becoming cloudy with occasional light rain during the afternoon.
0
Temperature: 64°F =
Humidity: 66 %
Pressure: 14,6 psi =
Visibility: 9.5 mi =
C=
K
kmh-1
Wind: SSW at 12 mph =
Chance of rain: 70 %
mbar
km
Past 24-hr Precipitation (sq yd): 1,2 in =
Elevation: 79 ft =
cm
m
http://www.weather.com
TASK2 A RECIPE
Easy chocolate cake
Ingredients:
8 oz plain flour =
g
¾ lb caster sugar =
dag
3 oz cocoa powder =
g
1½ tsp baking powder
2 free-range eggs
Preparation method: Preheat the oven to 350 0F =
0,5 pt milk =
4½ fl oz vegetable oil =
¼ gal boiling water =
7 fl oz double cream =
½ lb plain chocolate =
0
C…
dl
ml
l
dl
g
bbc.co.uk/food
TASK3 NATIONAL SPEED LIMITS
VEHICLE TYPE
Cars and
motorcycles
Goods vehicles
(over 7.5 t)
Boats
(river Thames)
Built-up area
30 mph =
kmh-1
Carriageway,
non built-up area
60 mph =
kmh-1
Motorway
30 mph =
kmh-1
40 mph =
kmh-1
60 mph =
4 kn =
=
kmh-1
ms-1
5 kn =
=
kmh-1
ms-1
/
70 mph =
kmh-1
kmh-1
https://www.gov.uk/speed-limits
TASK 4 PERSONAL INFORMATION
Mark Simon Cavendish
Nickname
Manx Missile
Born
21 May 1985 (age 28), Douglas, Isle of Man, UK
Height
5 ft 9 in =
cm
Weight
10,7 st =
kg
Top speed
~ 49 mhp =
kmh-1 =
ms-1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Cavendish
TASK 5 HORSEPOWER v FUEL CONSUMPTION
Vehicle
Ford Fiesta Hatchback
BMW 528i
Harley Davidson MC SS
Horsepower
110 hp =
240 hp =
82 hp =
kW
kW
kW
Average fuel cons. (miles per gallon)
34 mpg =
km∙l-1
28 mpg =
km∙l-1
55 mpg =
km∙l-1
Price
£ 8 999
£ 43 000
£ 17 500
http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=434465
TASK 6 TYRE PRESSURE
Vehicle
Front tyres
Rear tyres
Car
34 psi =
bar
31 psi =
bar
Mountain bicycles
Street bicycles
55 psi =
90 psi =
bar
bar
65 psi =
100 psi =
bar
bar
http://www.national.co.uk/information/tyre-pressure.aspx
Why is recommended pressure higher in front tyres for cars and in rear tyres for bicycles? (weight distribution)
________________________________________________________________________________________
Why do mountain bicycles require less tyre pressure than street (race) bicycles do?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
TASK 7 REAL ESTATE ADVERTISEMENT
5 bedroom house for sale Folley Road, Hundon, Sudbury, Suffolk
An exceptional timber and brick barn conversion with an impressive
5465 sq ft of accommodation set within 3.6 acres of woodland, formal garden and paddock with stunning
views of the Suffolk countryside.
Dimensions
Living room:
Dining room:
Kitchen:
Master bedroom:
Bedroom 2:
Residential area:
Lot size:
Age:
Type of heat:
Air conditioning:
Asking price:
15 sq yd =
4 yd X 2 yd 2 ft =
90 sq ft 20 sq in =
13 ft 8 in X 14 ft =
11 ft 11 in X 11 ft 4 in =
5465 sq ft =
3,65 ac =
m2 =
5 years
central
central
£ 369.000
m2
m2
m2
m2
m2
m2
ar
http://www.realestate.com/