Final answer:
Sarah calculates that about 80 polar bears would be needed to equal the weight of a humpback whale, after converting the whale's weight from tons to pounds and dividing it by the polar bear's weight. This example demonstrates the importance of understanding and converting customary units of weight in diverse contexts, which is a key concept in mathematics.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Customary Units of Weight
When dealing with customary units of weight such as pounds and tons, it's important to understand how to convert between these units. For example, in a situation where a student named Sarah is curious about how many polar bears would equal the weight of a humpback whale, she would need to employ unit conversion. A polar bear weighs approximately 1000 pounds, while a humpback whale can weigh about 40 tons. Since 1 ton is equivalent to 2000 pounds, Sarah would multiply 40 tons by 2000 to get the whale's weight in pounds, which equals 80,000 pounds. Dividing the whale's weight by the weight of a single polar bear gives us the answer: it would take about 80 polar bears to equal the weight of one humpback whale.
Customary units of weight are not just relevant in biology but also in various fields. For instance, computing the weight of animals, measuring the mass of different objects, and understanding the capacities of vehicles like the Boeing 777-200ER, are all scenarios where weight measurements are crucial. Diverse objects and animals have been mentioned to give context to these weights, such as the Komodo dragon, the leatherback turtle, and even the Golden Eagle.
Unit conversion is a fundamental concept, and it helps to represent numbers in simpler or more understandable forms, such as using scientific notation for very large or small measurements. Example conversions include understanding that 6 to 8 tons reflect the typical weight range for a male African elephant, which can be converted to 12,000 to 16,000 pounds respectively, by multiplying by 2000 pounds per ton. Whether comparing the weight of two enormous animals or realizing the need for conversions in various circumstances, mastery of customary units remains indispensable.