Simple units conversion (km/h -> m/s)

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To convert 35 km/h to m/s, the correct formula is 35 km/h multiplied by 1000 m/km and divided by 3600 s/h. The initial calculation mistakenly used 60 seconds instead of 3600 seconds for an hour, leading to an incorrect result of 583 m/s instead of the correct 9.7 m/s. This highlights the importance of accurately converting time units in speed calculations. Mistakes in unit conversions are common and can be easily overlooked. Understanding the correct conversion factors is essential for accurate results.
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So the problem is:

Convert 35 km/h to in m/s.

I know that:

- 1 km = 10^3 m
- 1 h = 60 s

So I do:

35 km/h (10^3 m/1 km) (1 h/60 s) = 583 m/s

But the answer is 9.7 -- What??
 
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oggfile said:
So the problem is:

Convert 35 km/h to in m/s.

I know that:

- 1 km = 10^3 m
- 1 h = 60 s

So I do:

35 km/h (10^3 m/1 km) (1 h/60 s) = 583 m/s

But the answer is 9.7 -- What??

\frac{35km}{h} \cdot \frac{1000m}{1km} \cdot \frac{1h}{3600s}

There are more seconds in an hour than 60!

Hope this helps.

CS
 
stewartcs said:
\frac{35km}{h} \cdot \frac{1000m}{1km} \cdot \frac{1h}{3600s}

There are more seconds in an hour than 60!

Hope this helps.

CS

Wow, that was dumb of me. Seriously, I could simply NOT figure this out. Thanks a lot!
 
oggfile said:
Wow, that was dumb of me. Seriously, I could simply NOT figure this out. Thanks a lot!

Honest mistake...happens to everyone sometimes.

CS
 
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