Measurement conversion worksheets

Free measurement conversion worksheets

How many inches are in 2 feet 3 inches? How many ounces are in a pound and a half? Converting units is where measurement stops being about a ruler and starts being about numbers. On this page you can print free measurement conversion worksheets for length, weight and time, in U.S. customary units, metric units or both. Children convert from one unit to another, rewrite mixed measurements as a single unit, split a measurement into larger and smaller units, and compare two measurements. Print on US Letter or A4 with no sign-up, and keep the answer key for yourself.

Every answer is a whole number and there are no decimals or fractions, so all the attention goes to the relationship between the units.

Four kinds of problems

• Convert to another unit. 3 yd = ___ ft, or 48 in = ___ ft. Problems go in both directions, from a larger unit to a smaller one and back.
• Mixed units to one unit. 2 ft 3 in = ___ in. The child multiplies, then adds the rest.
• Split into larger and smaller units. 47 in = ___ ft ___ in. How many whole feet fit, and how many inches are left over?
• Compare measurements. 2 ft ___ 25 in. The child writes >, < or = after putting both sides in the same unit.

“A bit of everything” rotates through all four. A single kind is better for focused practice, especially at the start.

U.S. customary, metric or both

American schools teach both systems, so you choose:

• U.S. customary: inches, feet and yards; ounces and pounds; minutes and hours. The extended set adds miles, tons, seconds and days.
• Metric: centimeters and meters; grams and kilograms; minutes and hours. The extended set adds millimeters, kilometers, metric tons, seconds and days. This is also the option to pick in the UK, Canada, Australia and most other English-speaking countries.
• Both, on one sheet: customary and metric problems take turns, and the reminder at the top lists both systems.

Each problem stays inside one system. These sheets never ask a child to turn inches into centimeters, because that requires decimals and is a different skill.

The conversions on the sheets

• 1 ft = 12 in, 1 yd = 3 ft, 1 mi = 1,760 yd
• 1 lb = 16 oz, 1 ton = 2,000 lb
• 1 cm = 10 mm, 1 m = 100 cm, 1 km = 1,000 m
• 1 kg = 1,000 g, 1 t = 1,000 kg
• 1 min = 60 sec, 1 hr = 60 min, 1 day = 24 hr

Only neighboring units are paired, so a sheet may ask for feet and inches or yards and feet but not yards and inches. Each step uses one conversion, which keeps the arithmetic manageable. In the basic set a child meets only the most familiar pairs.

Why mixed measurements matter

Real measurements often come in two units at once. A child is 4 ft 5 in tall, a baby weighs 7 lb 8 oz, a movie runs 1 hr 45 min. Being able to go back and forth between “4 ft 5 in” and “53 in” is what makes comparing and adding measurements possible later. In every mixed measurement on these sheets the smaller part is less than one larger unit. You will see 3 ft 11 in, but never 3 ft 14 in.

How to teach it: larger to smaller first

1. Start with a real ruler, a scale or a clock. A child who has held a 1-foot ruler remembers it better than a table.
2. Print “Convert to another unit” with one measurement and the basic set. Going from larger to smaller means multiplying, and it usually feels easier.
3. Move on to mixed units as a single unit: multiply the larger part, then add the smaller part.
4. Try splitting, which is really division with a remainder. The left-over part becomes the smaller unit.
5. Finish with comparing, which brings all of the other skills together.

The time trap

Time is the classic stumbling block, because it is not based on tens. Children who have learned that 1 m = 100 cm often write 2 hr 15 min = 215 min. The right answer is 135. If you see this mistake, go back to a clock: one hour is sixty minutes, so two hours are 120, plus 15 more. Customary units need the same care, because 12, 3, 16 and 2,000 follow no single pattern. Keep the reminder on while a child is still learning them.

Worksheets and copies

Choose 8 or 12 problems per sheet. For a group, set the number of children from 1 to 6: everyone gets an identical copy and one answer key goes at the end of the stack. You can add a caption of up to 60 characters, such as a name or “Review before the test”. Press “New problems” for a new set. Changing the number of copies, the caption or the reminder keeps the problems you already have. The black-and-white option removes the shaded background from the reminder box.

Checking the answers

The answer key repeats each problem in the same order with the blanks filled in. When something is wrong, look at what kind of mistake it is. A wrong number may simply be a multiplication slip. Treating feet or hours as if they were based on 10 is a misunderstanding of the unit, and that deserves a few minutes with a ruler or a clock. For comparing problems, ask the child to write both sides in the smaller unit first.

More measurement and number practice

Pair these with telling time worksheets, area and perimeter worksheets and counting money. Conversions depend on quick facts, so multiplication worksheets and long division worksheets help a lot. For comparing whole numbers on their own, try greater than and less than worksheets.

Frequently asked questions

Choose the units and the kind of problems, then print your measurement conversion worksheets.