# Help with a conversion problem

1. Sep 13, 2006

### jfsbird

I am a first year University Physics student and a longgg time out of high school. I am strong in math, but I am feeling very shaky about this physics course. our first homework assignment had a couple of problems that I found a little confusing. Here is trhe first one:

For about ten years after the French Revolution the French government attempted to base measurements of time on multiples of ten: one week consisted of ten days, one day ten hours, one hour 100 minutes, and one minute 100 seconds. What are the ratios of (a) the French decimal week and the standard week, and (b) the French decimal second and the standard second?

I just need a little help getting started. Doesnt there need to be some kind of equivillancy to find a conversion factor? The answer for this problem is in the back of the book but i can't see how to get there.

2. Sep 13, 2006

### mbrmbrg

Hey, hey! Are you using Halliday? Do you not love how the authors go on rants about how necessary the metric system is (see problem 30)? Fun and humor!

OK, to business. They do give you the equivilancies. Rewrite the question "1 week consisted of 10 days" as "1 week = 10 days" or more useful yet, $1=\frac{1 week}{10 days}=\frac{10 days}{1 week}$. Do so for all information they give you. Does that help?

Last edited: Sep 13, 2006
3. Sep 13, 2006

### jfsbird

Thanks. that helps a bit. I got the part (a). And yes we're using the Halliday book. And yes he does tend to rant...

4. Sep 14, 2006

### jfsbird

It took me a while and i feel like a dunce.....the assumption is that 1 day = 1 day...once i saw that the rest was easy thanks for pointing me in the right direction.