Conversions

[Julia Mizzi 2I]

Does anyone have tips on how to remember what to convert? I am struggling with the textbook problems as I always forget what needs to be converted

[Chem_Mod]

Hi Julia,

A good tip is to look at what units your final answer needs to be in and what values you are given. For instance, if you are using a value for specific heat capacity that uses kJ instead of J, and your final answer for q is supposed to be in J, then you would want to convert kJ to J. On a similar note, if you are given a different unit for a measurement but your final answer options don't have that unit, you know that there must be a unit conversion (e.g., L x atm instead of J).

For me, it helps to convert everything beforehand to the units that I want at the end. You can also perform unit conversion at the end. Do what works best for you. Just remember to account for unit conversions regardless of when you do it.

Hope that helps!

[Olivia Timpson 2B]

Hello!
Something else that helps is writing the units for every number you use in your equation. I know in the past I haven’t always included units but I find it is a lot easier to figure out when to convert when all of the units are on your paper, that way you can see if something doesn’t cancel out.