
5: Geometry


• 5.1: Unit Conversion - American System
In this section we will develop a technique for converting units used in the American system. We begin with a discussion of common measurements of length in the United States.
• 5.2: Unit Conversion- Metric System
The metric system of units is the standard system of units preferred by scientists. It is based on the base ten number system and its decimal format is more friendly to users of this system. There is a common set of prefixes adopted by the metric system to indicate a power of ten to apply to the base unit.
• 5.3: American Units to Metric Units and Vice-Versa
We often need to convert from the American system of units to the metric system of units or vice-versa (imagine traveling to a European country using the metric system). That will be our focus in this section.
• 5.4: Perimeter and Area
• 5.5: Volume
• 5.6: Solve a Formula for a Specific Variable
Formulas are used in so many fields, it is important to recognize formulas and be able to manipulate them easily. It is often helpful to solve a formula for a specific variable. If you need to put a formula in a spreadsheet, it is not unusual to have to solve it for a specific variable first. We isolate that variable on one side of the equals sign with a coefficient of one and all other variables and constants are on the other side of the equal sign.