FAQS
Q. The result of my conversion says NaN. What does that mean?
A. It is an error message that means "Not a Number" - the input you entered was incorrect. Make sure you enter only numbers, not letters or other characters.
Q. The result of my conversion says that 1 gram is equal to 0.00 kilograms (or some amount of one unit equals 0.00 of a different unit). Why?
A. Because of "rounding". You can choose the number of decimal places shown in your answer. The default is set for 2 decimal places. If you do the conversion again with 4 decimal places, you would get the result: 1 gram = 0.0010 kilograms.
Q. Which weight measurement do I use: troy, apothecary or avoirdupois?
A. Troy measurements are generally used for precious metals. Apothecary measurements are used for medications. Avoirdupois measurements are used for almost everything else - they are our "every day" units.
Q. The conversions do not work! When I click the "Convert Now" button, nothing happens.
A. The conversions will not work until the page has finished loading. Sometimes the banner ads take a few extra seconds to load. When that happens, click the "Stop" button in the toolbar and try the conversion again. You can also try the "Refresh" or "Reload" button, depending on which browser you use. (Yes, we know how most of you feel about banner ads, but the ads pay for the site so you can continue to use it for free.)
Q. I got an answer that looks like this: 2.64e+06 Or like this: 5.3e-08 What does that mean?
A. The "e" stand for exponent. So 2.64e+06 is the computer program's way of saying 2.64 x 10 raised to the 6th power, or 2,640,000. If your result was 5.3e-08, then the answer would have been 5.3 x 10 raised to the negative 8th power, or 0.000000053
Basically, the exponent tells you how many places to move the decimal point. This way of expressing large numbers as powers of 10 is called "scientific notation." For more information, visit New York University's page on scientific notation.
Q. Where can I learn more about solving everyday math problems?
A. We recommend the following books:
Everyday Math for Everyday Life:
A Handbook For When It Just Doesn't Add Up
All the Math You'll Ever Need:
A Self-Teaching Guide
Family Math
Help your children learn math at home with over
300 pages of interesting games, puzzles and projects.