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How to Change a Foot to a Meter

Meters (m) and feet (ft) are base distances that indicate length in one dimension. The meter is a base unit of length in the metric system, used by most countries as of 2011, while the foot is a base unit of length in the English standard system of measurements, used primarily by the United States as of 2011. Converting between these two lengths is a straightforward task which follows the generalized procedure for all standard to metric conversions.

Things You'll Need

Calculator

Instructions

- 1
  Write down the length to be converted. For the current task, this length will be "1 ft," representative of the length of one foot.
- 2
  Reference the appropriate foot-to-meter conversion ratio from a ruler, a physics or math textbook or a unit conversion website. The conversion is 3.28 feet in every meter of length.
- 3
  Multiply the original length -- 1 foot -- by the appropriate form of the referenced metric. Since this conversion should simplify to units of meters, the appropriate form is that in which the meter unit appears as the numerator in the conversion ratio (m/ft), or (1 m)/(3.28 ft). So, (1 ft)(1 m)/(3.28 ft) = 0.305 m.

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