![]() ![]() Next let's try a more complicated example: you are offered a full-time job paying $40,000 per year and another paying $12 per hour. And we are left with our quantity expressed in meters. Notice that we got rid of the "AU" by getting another "AU" on the bottom of the quantity, which allows us to cancel it out. Now if we take the distance to Mars of 2 AU and multiply it by 1, we don't change the distance. ![]() The first step is to divide both sides by 1 AU, and notice that of course 1 AU divided by itself equals 1, so (see the review of scientific notation if you are not familiar with this way of writing large numbers). What we can find in the back of the textbook is an equation that says We need to somehow get rid of the "AU" on the left and change it into meters. Let's start with the simple example of converting Mars' 2 AU distance into meters. In astronomy and elsewhere, you are almost guaranteed to get the wrong answer if you do not keep track of your units! In everyday life similar situations arise: you are driving across Canada and need to change the 100 km per hr speed limit into more familiar miles per hour, or perhaps you are shopping at Price Club and need to compare the value of the 30 pound box of Corn Flakes with the 14 ounce box at your regular grocery store. ![]() For example, we might know that Mars is 2 AU away from us, but need to know how many meters away it is. A common problem in astronomy is the conversion of a quantity measured in some units into a quantity based on other units. ![]()
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