KUUMBA DANCERS AND DRUMMERS - City of St. Petersburg

Metric Mambo
The metric system is used throughout the countries of Africa. Use the conversion formulas listed below to answer
the following questions.
1. In Africa, the nomadic tribe, the Tuareg, cross the hot Sahara desert during their travels. If they were
to travel 14 miles in one day, how many kilometers would that be? _________ km
How many meters? _________ m
2. A fully-grown adult elephant can weigh up to 4500 kilograms. How many pounds is this?
_______________ lbs.
3. A medium sized Djembe drum measures approximately 11” x 24”. Can you convert these
measurements into centimeters?
______x______ cm
4. That same Djembe drum can weighs approximately 4.6 kilograms. What is the
weight in pounds? ________ lbs.
5. The Mendjani is a West
African dance of celebration
danced to the beat of the Djembe
drum. If the space they danced
within measured 2.7 meters X
4.5 meters, what would these
measurements be in yards? In
feet? Inches? _____x___ yrds.
____x____ ft.
There are 1000 meters in
one kilometer.
There are 3 feet in one
yard, and 12 inches in
one foot.
To convert:
Inches to centimeters, multiply by
2.54. To reverse, divide.
Miles to kilometers, multiply by 1.6
To reverse, divide.
Pounds to kilograms, multiply by 0.45.
To reverse, divide by 2.2.
Yards to meters, multiply by 0.9.
To reverse, divide.
6th - 8th Grades
Answers: 1. 22.4 km; 22, 400 m 2. 2, 045 lbs;. 3. approximately 29 x 61 cm;
4. about 2 lbs. (2.09 lbs.); 5. 3 x 5 yrds., 9 x 15 ft., 108 x 180 in.
7