Question

. In the United States, a standard letter-sized piece of paper is 8.5 inches wide by 11 inches long. The international standard for a letter-sized piece of paper is different. The international standard is based on SI units: 21.0 cm wide by 29.7 cm long. a. Convert 21.0 cm to inches. Show your dimensional analysis setup. b. Convert 29.7 cm to inches. Show your dimensional analysis setup. c. State the dimensions, in inches, of the international standard for a letter-sized piece of paper. d. Which piece of paper is longer: a U.S. letter-sized piece of paper, or an international letter-sized piece of paper? e. Suppose the United States adopted the international standard for letter-sized paper. Explain at least two things that might result from this change

Answer 1

Note:
1 in = 2.54 cm

Part (a)

`21 \, cm = (21 \, cm)*( (1 \, in)/(2.54 \, cm) ) = 8.268 \, in`
Answer: 8.268 in

Part (b)

`29.7 \, cm = (29.7 \, cm)*( (1 \, in)/(2.54 \, cm) ) = 11.693 \, in`
Answer: 11.693 in

Part (c)
In SI units standard-sized paper is 21.0 cm by 29.7 cm, which is equivalent to 8.268 in by 11.693 in.
Answer: 8.268 in by 11.693 in.

Part (d)
U.S sized standard paper is 8.0 in by 11.0 in. Therefore the SI (internationally) sized paper is longer.

Part (e)
If the U.S> adopts the SI standard for letter-sized paper, both the width and length of standard paper will have to be increased. Therefore letter-sized paper will occupy a larger area and will be heavier if the thickness and density do not change.