You take your cat to the vet, and ‘it’ weighs 9.5lbs. How much does your cat weigh in grams? Note that 1lb=0.45kg. Show all your work!
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
To convert your cat’s weight from pounds to grams, we’ll first need to convert pounds to kilograms, and then convert kilograms to grams. Here’s how to do it step by step:
- Convert pounds to kilograms:
We know that 1 pound (lb) is equal to 0.45 kilograms (kg). Therefore, to convert 9.5 pounds to kilograms, we use the formula: [
\text{Weight in kg} = \text{Weight in lbs} \times 0.45
] [
\text{Weight in kg} = 9.5 \, \text{lbs} \times 0.45 = 4.275 \, \text{kg}
] - Convert kilograms to grams:
We know that 1 kilogram is equal to 1,000 grams. So, to convert 4.275 kilograms to grams, we use the formula: [
\text{Weight in grams} = \text{Weight in kg} \times 1,000
] [
\text{Weight in grams} = 4.275 \, \text{kg} \times 1,000 = 4,275 \, \text{grams}
]
Thus, the weight of your cat in grams is 4,275 grams.
Explanation
When you bring your cat to the vet, it’s important to know its weight for various reasons, such as medication dosing, health assessments, and monitoring weight changes over time. However, since different countries use different units of measurement, it can sometimes be necessary to convert the weight to fit local practices.
In this case, we started with the weight in pounds, a unit commonly used in the United States. To facilitate our calculations, we first converted pounds to kilograms, using the conversion factor where 1 pound is approximately 0.45 kilograms. This step helps standardize the measurement to a more internationally recognized unit, making it easier to share with veterinarians worldwide.
Finally, we converted kilograms to grams, as grams provide a more precise measurement, particularly useful in veterinary contexts where even small differences in weight can be significant. By multiplying by 1,000, we obtained the cat’s weight in grams, providing an accurate and clear representation of your cat’s weight for veterinary care.