# Help with Conversion

1. Sep 10, 2016

### Raymond Hernandez

How large a surface are in units of square feet will 1 gallon of paint cover if we apply a coat of paint that is 0.1 inches thick?

I am honestly pretty confused, I did some conversions but overall I am confused and I can't even fill in the template. Anyone mind helping me out?

1. The problem statement, all variables and given/known data

1 gallon of paint
0.1 inches thick

2. Relevant equations

3. The attempt at a solution

2. Sep 10, 2016

### Staff: Mentor

The trick in conversions like this one is to keep multiplying by "1" (which doesn't change the overall value), and set up your "1" fraction to help you cancel out units.

so to convert 3 miles to feet, you do this:

$$3 miles \frac{5280 feet}{1 mile} = 15,840 feet$$

So just look up how many cubic inches there are in a gallon, and set up your multiplications to do the conversions you need. Show us your work so we can check it...

3. Sep 10, 2016

### CWatters

0.1 inches is quite a thick coat of paint?