Unit Conversions

Unit conversion questions appear regularly in the UCAT QR subtest. The conversions themselves are straightforward — the challenge is performing them quickly and accurately under time pressure. This lesson covers the metric conversions, time conversions, and compound unit conversions that appear most often.

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Metric Length Conversions

Conversion	Factor	Direction
km → m	×1,000	Larger to smaller: multiply
m → cm	×100	Larger to smaller: multiply
cm → mm	×10	Larger to smaller: multiply
m → km	÷1,000	Smaller to larger: divide
cm → m	÷100	Smaller to larger: divide
mm → cm	÷10	Smaller to larger: divide

The Golden Rule: Converting from a larger unit to a smaller unit → multiply (you need more of the smaller units). Converting from a smaller unit to a larger unit → divide.

Quick Reference Chain

km → m → cm → mm

Each step: ×10, ×100, or ×1,000 depending on how many steps.