Can You Convert Meters to Kilograms?

[MeesaWorldWide]

Homework Statement

12.00 meters + 15.001 kg

Relevant Equations

n/a

Distance and weight are two separate things so....the question cannot be answered?

 

[phinds]

Not in any meaningful way. Personally, I think the answer is 6 unicorns but I could be wrong.

 

[berkeman]

Homework Statement: 12.00 meters + 15.001 kg
Relevant Equations: n/a

Distance and weight are two separate things so....the question cannot be answered?

Please don't make up nonsense problems like this. If you'd like to learn more about valid equations and units and unit conversions, just say so. We are happy to help.

(chasing down those 6 unicorns now -- they leave such a mess!)

 

[kuruman]

Homework Statement: 12.00 meters + 15.001 kg
Relevant Equations: n/a

Distance and weight are two separate things so....the question cannot be answered?

Getting a clue from you title
12.00 meters + 15.001 kg = 5.965×10^-2 Furlongs + 1.4764×10^-2 Long tons (UK)

Now what?

 

[berkeman]

Getting a clue from you title
12.00 meters + 15.001 kg = 5.965×10^-2 Furlongs + 1.4764×10^-2 Long tons (UK)

Now what?

Oh sure, turn this into bashing the US Imperial unit system.

 

[Orodruin]

Homework Statement: 12.00 meters + 15.001 kg
Relevant Equations: n/a

Distance and weight are two separate things so....the question cannot be answered?

The question is nonsensical. You are not allowed to add quantities with different physical dimension (in this case length and mass, respectively).

 

[MeesaWorldWide]

Please don't make up nonsense problems like this. If you'd like to learn more about valid equations and units and unit conversions, just say so. We are happy to help.

(chasing down those 6 unicorns now -- they leave such a mess!)

You think I made this up? This is an actual question on a handout that my prof posted on our course page. All you had to do was say that quantities with different dimensions cannot be combined, and leave it at that :)

 

[haruspex]

I would not be so dogmatic about dismissing it as nonsense. Arithmetic operations are context dependent.
The concept of addition originates with arbitrary collections. "You owe me a horse and cart." Later it acquired its numeric sense, first for natural numbers, then extended to negatives, rationals and reals.
What about complex numbers? Does it really make sense to add 1 and i? When we add two complex numbers, we add the real and imaginary parts separately. The real and imaginary parts do not get added to each other in any stronger sense than the horse and cart do.
Note that all of these meanings share commutativity and associativity, making the extensions natural. So a possible answer to the question is that it equals 15.001 kg + 12.00 meters, and another is @kuruman's (but only as approximations).

 

[Orodruin]

I would not be so dogmatic about dismissing it as nonsense. Arithmetic operations are context dependent.
The concept of addition originates with arbitrary collections. "You owe me a horse and cart." Later it acquired its numeric sense, first for natural numbers, then extended to negatives, rationals and reals.
What about complex numbers? Does it really make sense to add 1 and i? When we add two complex numbers, we add the real and imaginary parts separately. The real and imaginary parts do not get added to each other in any stronger sense than the horse and cart do.
Note that all of these meanings share commutativity and associativity, making the extensions natural. So a possible answer to the question is that it equals 15.001 kg + 12.00 meters, and another is @kuruman's (but only as approximations).

I think this answer unfortunately just adds confusion into the mix. In actual physics we have conventions regarding physical dimensions and those simply do not allow adding quantities of different physical dimension and within those rules it is nonsensical. That you might be able to define your an operation such as that is outside of this scope and ultimately only adds confusion into the mix.

 

[haruspex]

I think this answer unfortunately just adds confusion into the mix. In actual physics we have conventions regarding physical dimensions and those simply do not allow adding quantities of different physical dimension and within those rules it is nonsensical. That you might be able to define your an operation such as that is outside of this scope and ultimately only adds confusion into the mix.

Sorry, I meant to finish with…

But in the present context, I feel sure the prof expects the answer "undefined", or "meaningless", or some such.

 

[kuruman]

tf??? You think I made this up? This is an actual question on a handout that my prof posted on our course page. All you had to do was say that quantities with different dimensions cannot be combined, and leave it at that :)

Personally, I don't think you made this up, however I also think that you didn't tell us the whole story. You say that it is "an actual question" when it isn't even a question! The thread title "Unit Conversions" hints at something, but what?

If this were posted on a course web page, please provide a legible screenshot. Then we will be in a position to ascertain for ourselves what the question is instead of relying on your interpretation. That's all you had to do.

 

[PeroK]

Homework Statement: 12.00 meters + 15.001 kg
Relevant Equations: n/a

Distance and weight are two separate things so....the question cannot be answered?

It could be related to handicap racing. One horse has to run 12m further and carry 15kg more. It's only in a strict scientific sense that you cannot add dissimilar things.

If you commit a crime, you could be punished by, say, 30 days in jail plus a $1000 fine.

 

[Lnewqban]

Welcome!

This question seems to be similar to #3-5 of this test I just found via Google:
https://mrsstowell.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/4/6/51460659/solutions_to_ch_review.pdf

Therefore, post #6 above shows the correct response.

 

[Steve4Physics]

Homework Statement: 12.00 meters + 15.001 kg
Relevant Equations: n/a

Distance and weight are two separate things so....the question cannot be answered?

Hi @MeesaWorldWide (If you are still reading this).

No one has explicitly said so (though see @Orodruin, Post #6), but note that 'kg' is a unit of mass, not weight.

In common language useage, 'weight' is given in kg (in countries using the metric system). But this should be avoided in physics!

Weight is a force, measured in (for example) newtons (N).

 

[kuruman]

Welcome!

This question seems to be similar to #3-5 of this test I just found via Google:
https://mrsstowell.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/4/6/51460659/solutions_to_ch_review.pdf

Therefore, post #6 above shows the correct response.

Without the instruction

to clarify what the task is, we wouldn't know what the correct response might be.

 

[Hill]

Not all is lost :

 

[Orodruin]

In common language useage, 'weight' is given in kg (in countries using the metric system). But this should be avoided in physics!

Note however the existence of units like kgf and lbf.

 

[Herman Trivilino]

The question looks like an author's mistake to me. It was probably intended to test for understanding of significant figures.
15.001 + 12.00 = 27.00.

 

[Steve4Physics]

Note however the existence of units like kgf and lbf

I know. But I would avoid such units at all costs. Not least because unicorns live in a place (I may not say where) with $g \ne 9.80665 m/s^2$.

 

[phinds]

The question looks like an author's mistake to me. It was probably intended to test for understanding of significant figures.
15.001 + 12.00 = 27.00.

I don't think so. See post #13

 

[Herman Trivilino]

I don't think so. See post #13

It could be that only after the question was presented to students the author discovered the error and had to provide that answer.

I'm just guessing based on the structure of the two numbers. It just looks like an editing error was made in the authoring of the question. Doesn't mean I'm right.

 

[Orodruin]

I know. But I would avoid such units at all costs. Not least because unicorns live in a place (I may not say where) with $g \ne 9.80665 m/s^2$.

Sure. I said they exist, not that I find them palatable.

 

[Herman Trivilino]

I know. But I would avoid such units at all costs. Not least because unicorns live in a place (I may not say where) with $g \ne 9.80665 m/s^2$.

There is no place where $g$ has that value for any significant amount of time. It was made up so that people could measure force in units of mass. The kilogram-force was dropped by BIPM long ago and should never be used.

Unfortunately, the pound-force is widely used, even though the pound is, by definition, a unit of mass.

 

[WWGD]

How do you then explain the Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco and Firearms? All 3 amalgamated into one. Edit: Different types of products, like amalgamated products, tensor products, allow you to mesh dissimilar objects.

 

[sbrothy]

As a tangentially historically related note: Russian Empress Katarina the Great once wanted to compile a list of her accomplishments. It went something like this (from memory):

Cities founded: 476
Victories Won: 65
Reforms introduced to alleviate the peasants burdens: 251
[The list went on for a while]

Finally they added all the numbers up like they were dealing with apples or horses. I don't know how that made any sense.

She was a lowflying spirit but still one of the most intellectual Tzars. She exchanged letters with Voltaire who made himself dumber than he was. I suspect he was having good fun. Go figure.

 

[mjc123]

I don't think so. See post #13

I think kg was probably a typo for km.

 

[Vanadium 50]

"You owe me a horse and cart."

Or, as Doris Day sang...

I love you, a bushel and a peck (so far so good)
A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck.