Resources/Unit conversions: length, capacity, and time
Grade 5•Printable worksheet + answer key•CC0 license

Unit conversions: length, capacity, and time

A printable lesson on converting measurement units.

Students learn to convert between units within the customary and metric systems.

Print-ready worksheet with answer key and quick teaching tips.

Grade 50 problems10 minAnswer key included
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Ready-to-teach

Clear steps, examples, and practice in one printable page.

Misconception-proof

Highlights common mistakes and how to fix them quickly.

Open license

CC0: free to copy, adapt, and share without attribution.

Quick overview

This free unit conversions worksheet for grade 5 builds fluency with measurement conversions.

Lesson plan snapshot

15-20 min
  • Warm-up (3 min): review key conversion facts.
  • Model (5 min): demonstrate multiply vs divide reasoning.
  • Guided practice (5 min): complete problems 1-4 together.
  • Independent practice (7 min): finish the remaining problems.

Materials: conversion chart, pencil, calculator (optional)

Learning targets

  • Convert between feet, inches, yards, and miles.
  • Convert between cups, quarts, and gallons.
  • Convert between metric units (cm, m, km, mL, L, g, kg).
  • Convert between minutes, hours, and seconds.

Step-by-step approach

  1. 1Identify the starting and target units.
  2. 2Find the conversion factor (how many small units in one large unit).
  3. 3Going to smaller units → multiply (more pieces).
  4. 4Going to larger units → divide (fewer pieces).

Common mistakes

Mistake

Multiplying when you should divide (or vice versa).

Try instead

Think: 'Am I getting MORE or FEWER units?' More = multiply, Fewer = divide.

Mistake

Using the wrong conversion factor.

Try instead

Memorize key facts: 12 in/ft, 3 ft/yd, 4 cups/qt, 4 qt/gal, 1000 mL/L.

Mistake

Mixing up metric and customary systems.

Try instead

Metric uses 10, 100, 1000. Customary uses different numbers for each unit.

Worked example

Guided
Convert 5 feet to inches.
  1. There are 12 inches in 1 foot.
  2. Going to smaller units, so multiply.
  3. 5 × 12 = 60 inches.
Answer: 60 inches

Related resources

Volume

Volume of rectangular prisms.

View resource

Decimals

Work with decimal numbers.

View resource

Practice problems

12 problems • 18 min

Printable worksheet
  1. 1
    Convert 8 quarts to cups.
  2. 2
    Convert 500 centimeters to meters.
  3. 3
    Convert 6 feet to inches.
  4. 4
    Convert 12 quarts to gallons.
  5. 5
    Convert 12 yards to feet.
  6. 6
    Convert 350 centimeters to meters.
  7. 7
    Convert 3 yards to feet.
  8. 8
    Convert 2 quarts to cups.
  9. 9
    Convert 7 hours to minutes.
  10. 10
    Convert 1000 milliliters to liters.
  11. 11
    Convert 4 quarts to gallons.
  12. 12
    Convert 400 centimeters to meters.

Answer key

12 answers
  1. 11) 32 cups
  2. 22) 5 m
  3. 33) 72 inches
  4. 44) 3 gallons
  5. 55) 36 feet
  6. 66) 3.5 m
  7. 77) 9 feet
  8. 88) 8 cups
  9. 99) 420 minutes
  10. 1010) 1 L
  11. 1111) 1 gallons
  12. 1212) 4 m

Teacher tips

  • TCreate anchor charts with common conversion factors.
  • TUse real measuring tools to make conversions concrete.
  • TPractice with cooking recipes that require conversions.

Parent tips

  • PConvert while cooking: 'How many cups in 2 quarts?'
  • PMeasure objects in both feet and inches.
  • PTime activities in both minutes and seconds.

Open license

You are free to copy, adapt, and share these materials. No attribution required. Released under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 (public domain).