Mechanics- Unit Example

The official world land speed record is 1228.0 km/h, set on October 15, 1997 by Andy Green in the jet engine car Thrust SSC. Express this speed in meters per second.

We want to convert the units of speed from km/h to m/s.

The prefix k means 10³, so the speed 1228.0 km/h = 1228.0 x 10³ m/h. We also know that there are 3600 s in 1 h. So

1228.0 km/h = (1228.0 x 10³ m/h)/(3600 s)=341.11 m/s