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How to Calculate Inches to Metres

Although the metric system for measuring linear distance was designed as early as 1600, it was not officially put into use until 1795, when post-revolutionary France adopted the decimal system for measuring the space between two points. Since that time the metric system has come into use in every country, except the United States. In America the English foot seems well entrenched, especially among the building trades. However, if you need to convert inches to meters the process is a simple one.

Things You'll Need

Measuring device such as a tape measure or three foot ruler
Calculator

Instructions

Method 1
- 1
  Make the measurement in inches and then convert the numerical value to decimals. Fortunately, most fractions present on a tape measure (i.e. 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 and 1/16) are easily transposed to a decimal value. For example if you have a reading of 2 5/8 inches, the resulting decimal will be 2.6250 inches.
- 2
  Convert the English decimal value to centimeters. This step involves only one multiplication factor. In order to convert inches to centimeters all that is necessary is to multiply the decimal value of inches by 2.54. The result is 6.6675 centimeters.
- 3
  Convert the centimeter value to meters. This is a very simple step that merely entails dividing the centimeter value of 6.6675 by 100. This calculation is facilitated by the fact that there are 100 centimeters in a meter. The result is 0.06675 meters.
Feet To Meters
- 4
  Make your initial reading in feet and inches. For example, if you measure a distance of 16 1/2 inches the numerical value can also be read as 1 foot, 4 1/2 inches.
- 5
  Convert 1 foot and 4 1/2 inches to its decimal equivalent. This is a very simple operation that only involves changing the fraction of 4 1/2 to 4.5. You will then add this value to the one full foot.
- 6
  Convert 4.5 inches to a percentage ratio based on twelve inches. This means that you will have to compare 4.5 to 12 inches, so you can calculate the numerical value of this relationship. The solution is actually very straightforward. Divide 4.5 by 12 and you will have your answer; which is 0.375. Essentially, what you have done is to convert your reading from a foot that is marked in twelve increments to a foot that is now divided into ten units. So now the total number of feet is expressed as 1.375 instead of the original 1 foot and 4 1/2 inches, even though the actual distance is still the same.
- 7
  Convert the decimal value of feet to meters. Now that your English measurement is expressed in decimals instead of fractions, all you need to do is multiply that number by the conversion factor for feet to meters. Since the conversion factor for feet to meters is 0.3048, just multiply 1.375 (feet) by 0.3048 (conversion factor). The result is 0.4191(meters).

Numerology