Final answer:
Unit conversions allow us to express an equal amount in different units using conversion factors, which are essential for conducting measurements and calculations consistently across various measurement systems.
Step-by-step explanation:
Unit conversions provide an equal amount but with other units, which is option C in the provided question. To perform unit conversions, conversion factors are employed, which are ratios that relate equal quantities in different units. This process facilitates comparisons and calculations across various measurement systems.
When converting from one unit to another within the same measurement system, especially in the metric system, we use powers of 10. For example, converting meters to centimeters involves multiplying by 100, since 1 meter is equal to 100 centimeters. A conversion factor for this would be 100 cm/1 m. However, when working within the U.S. customary system, the conversion factors are often unrelated to each other, such as 1 foot being equal to 12 inches.
Dimensional analysis is a method used to carry out these conversions, where you first identify the given information, determine the unit desired in the answer, utilize conversion factors to cancel out the unwanted units and perform the mathematical operation to obtain the result in the correct units.