Converting Units [ENDORSED]

[Hammad Khan 2B]

Hello, I'm wondering if we should look to convert units when we finish the problem. So if I have an answer lets say, 290*10^-9m then should I convert it into nm or should I just leave it as is?

[Leon Popa]

Hey Hammad,

From what I've observed, in such a case I would convert the 2.90 * 10^-9 m to nanometers, considering that the problem is asking for the wavelength. If however, the your answer to a certain problem was 2.90 * 10^-38 m, it is best left in that form since the conversion is now severely complicated. Overall, I think you should convert your answer so that you get 2.90 nm.

Hope that helps,

- Leon.

[Jana Sun 1I]

I agree with the post above. It might depend on the problem. Some might ask specifically for you to convert m to nm, but if it doesn't specify, I don't think you would lose points or anything if you kept it in m. However, it just might be easier to interpret a result if it's in nm.

[Lourick Bustamante 1B]

^ I agree with both people. Lavelle said in lecture that it's okay to leave it in meters, but as stated above, it'll be easier to interpret and use the calculation if it were to be converted.

[mayapartha_1D]

I agree with the above as well! Sometimes it is easier to see the answer in meters (the SI unit), however in some cases it is more useful to see the answer in the closest unit. For example, if the closest thing is a nanometer, you would be able to see and compare the answer to other wavelengths.

[isauramora3K]

If it was converting units such as m^3 to cm^3 then you should convert all units at the beginning but if its converting units where you simply move a decimal such as nm to pm then do it at the end.

[Sandhya Rajkumar 1C]

If you are trying to compare to other wavelengths, converting to nanometers would probably make things easier.

[Abigail Urbina 1K]

It might be easier to calculate and see the final answer in meters. However, when asked to compare with other wavelengths, and with questions that ask for different types of radiation, converting your answer to to units of nanometers in the end is very helpful.

[Adrian Lim 1G]

It would depend on the problem as all the replies above have stated, but it may be a good idea to see the units of the values that the problem gave and just be consistent with that.

[Emma Boyles 1L]

If it relates to wavelength, I think it's best to put it in nanometers.

[Angel R Morales Dis1G]

My T.A stated that as long as the questions don't specify the SI units, you can write you answer in meters or nm etc.. But if it does specify a specific unit, always write your final answer in that unit.

[Wenjie Dong 2E]

It is better to convert to the most used units.