Convert Units of Lengths

A set of questions on how to convert from one unit of length to another: meters, kilometers, millimeters, centimeters, decimeters, feet, inches, yards, miles, nanometers and micrometers. Both metric and imperial units are used.

Table of Conversion

The table below shows the conversion between different units of lengths and will help in solving the examples below.
km m dm cm mm micrometer nanometer mile yard feet inch
1 km = 1 1×103 1×104 1×105 1×106 1×109 1×1012 0.6213 1093.61 3280.839 39370.07
1 m = 0.001 1 10 100 1×103 1×106 1×109 0.0006213 1.09361 3.280839 39.37007
1 dm = 1×10-4 0.1 1 10 100 1×105 1×108 6.213×10-5 0.10936 0.32808 3.93701
1 cm= 1×10-5 0.01 0.1 1 10 1×104 1×107 6.213×10-6 0.010936 0.032808 0.393701
1 mm= 1×10-6 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 1×103 1×106 6.213×10-7 0.0010936 0.0032808 0.0393701
1 micrometer= 1×10-9 1×10-6 1×10-5 1×10-4 1×10-3 1 1×103 6.213×10-10 0.0010936×10-3 0.0032808×10-3 0.0393701×10-3
1 nanometer= 1×10-12 1×10-9 1×10-8 1×10-7 1×10-6 1×10-3 1 6.213×10-13 0.0010936×10-6 0.0032808×10-6 0.0393701×10-6
1 mile= 1.60934 1609.344 16093.44 160934.4 1609344 1.609344×109 1.609344×1012 1 1760 5280 63360
1 yard= 0.0009144 0.9144 9.14400 91.44 914.4 9.144×105 9.144×108 5.681818×10-4 1 3 36
1 foot= 3.048×10-4 0.3048 3.048 30.48 304.8 304.8×103 304.8×106 1.893939×10-4 0.3333333 1 12
1 inch= 2.54×10-5 2.54×10-2 0.254 2.54 25.4 25.4×103 25.4×106 1.57828283×10-5 0.0277777778 0.0833333333 1

Questions with Solutions

Question 1

Convert 12 centimeters (cm) into inches.
Solution:
From the table above we have: 1 cm = 0.393701 inches. Hence
12 cm = 12 × 0.393701 inches = 4.724412 inches

Question 2

Convert 0.35 miles into centimeters (cm).
Solution:
The tables gives 1 mile = 160934.4 cm. Hence

0.35 miles = 0.35 × 160934.4 cm = 5.63270×104 cm

Question 3

Convert 123.35 feet into kilometers (km).
Solution:
The tables gives 1 foot = 3.048×10-4 km. Hence
123.35 feet = 123.35 × 3.048×10-4 km = 0.0375970 km

Question 4

Convert 11.56 inches into micrometers.
Solution:
The tables gives 1 inch = 25.4×103 micrometers. Hence
11.56 inches = 11.56 × 25.4×103 micrometers = 2.93624×105 micrometers

Question 5

Convert 1238945.78 nanometers into yards.
Solution:
The tables gives 1 nanometer = 0.0010936×10-6 yards. Hence
1238945.78 nanometers = 1238945.78 × 0.0010936×10-6 yards = 0.00135491 yards

More math problems with detailed solutions in this site.