How to Convert Feet to Meters

There are many reasons why you might want to convert feet to meters – for example, when you are describing your height to a European friend or a school assignment requires you to do so. There are many metric conversion tools on the web, but in this article, wikiHow will show you how to quickly and easily do the conversion. In most practical situations, all you need to know is 1 meter = 3.28 feet , so you can simply divide the foot measurement by 3.28 to find the length in meters. Read the article below for more detailed information, including steps to get the result in appropriate units while presenting the problem.

Table of Contents

Quickly convert feet to meters

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/a/ac/Measure-the-Height-of-a-Tree-Step-20-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px- Measure-the-Height-of-a-Tree-Step-20-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/a/ac/Measure-the- Height-of-a-Tree-Step-20-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Measure-the-Height-of-a-Tree-Step-20-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460 ,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Measure in feet. This step is simple – just use a tape measure, ruler, ruler, or other measuring tool to determine the length you want to measure in feet. In many situations, such as at school, you will know the length in feet you need to change or this information will be provided to you. In that case, you don’t need to measure anything as you can use the measurement you are provided with.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/3/3c/Convert-Feet-to-Meters-Step-2-Version-4.jpg/v4-728px-Convert-Feet- to-Meters-Step-2-Version-4.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/3/3c/Convert-Feet-to-Meters-Step-2- Version-4.jpg/v4-728px-Convert-Feet-to-Meters-Step-2-Version-4.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight” :546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Multiply or divide your measurement by a conversion factor. Since 3.28 feet is equal to one meter, divide your measurement (in feet) by 3.28 to convert to meters. You can also multiply your measurement in feet by 0.3048 to get the exact same answer, since 0.3048 meters equals one foot. ^{[1] X Research Source}

For example, let’s say you want to know the height in meters. If you are exactly 6 feet tall, do the calculation 6/3.28 = 1.83 meters. Remember that 6 × 0.3048 gives the same result.
Do not forget to write the unit of measurement for your answer as meters.
For quick calculations that don’t need to be very precise, you can round the conversion coefficients to 3.3, 0.3, etc., making mental calculations much easier. Use with caution as these approximations will result in inaccurate results.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/8/80/Convert-Feet-to-Meters-Step-3-Version-3.jpg/v4-728px-Convert-Feet- to-Meters-Step-3-Version-3.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/8/80/Convert-Feet-to-Meters-Step-3- Version-3.jpg/v4-728px-Convert-Feet-to-Meters-Step-3-Version-3.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight” :546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Don’t forget the inch measurements. In fact, you’ll often see distances described not as full feet (1 foot, 2 feet, 3 feet, etc.), but as some combination of feet and inches (20 feet and 11 inches, etc…). In case you have to convert distances in feet and inches to meters, you can simply divide the number of inches by 12 to find the equivalent number of feet (if less than 12 inches, it will be less than 1). Then add this to your foot measurement and convert to meters as usual. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Let’s say we want to change our height to meters, but this time the measurement is not 6 feet. Instead, I’m 5 feet 10 inches tall. The way to do it will be as follows:
- 10 / 12 = 0.84
- In total we get: 5 + 0.84 = 5.84 feet
- 5.84 / 3.28 = 1.78 meters
You can also calculate inches by turning your foot value into a fraction. 5 feet and 10 inches can be written as 5 10/12 feet because 1 foot is equal to 12 inches. Simply multiplying 5 by the denominator (12) and adding to the numerator (10) we get a neat fraction:
- 5 10/12
- ((5 × 12) + 10) / 12 = 70/12 feet .
- Note that 70/12 = 5.84 – same value as above. So 70/12 × 0.3048 = 1.78 meters.

Presenting the unit conversion problem

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/5/50/Convert-Feet-to-Meters-Step-4-Version-3.jpg/v4-728px-Convert-Feet- to-Meters-Step-4-Version-3.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/5/50/Convert-Feet-to-Meters-Step-4- Version-3.jpg/v4-728px-Convert-Feet-to-Meters-Step-4-Version-3.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight” :546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Create a conversion equation. In the “essay” exercise, you are usually not allowed to convert directly from feet to meters because the conversion factor between feet and meters is not known. Fortunately, you can make up a unit conversion equation that uses the commonly known conversions between inches and centimeters, and between centimeters and meters for a fairly simple answer. Creating a conversion system like the one below will help you find the foot value right away: ^{[3] X Research Source}

____ ~~feet~~

*

12 ~~inches~~
1 ft

*

2.54 cm
1 ~~inch~~

*

1 m
100 cm

=

? m

The conversion equation needs to take into account the conversion of all units of measurement during the conversion from feet to meters. Units of measure need to appear once in the numerator and once in the denominator, with the exception of meters, which appear only once in the numerator.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/6/6c/Convert-Feet-to-Meters-Step-5-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Convert-Feet- to-Meters-Step-5-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/6/6c/Convert-Feet-to-Meters-Step-5- Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Convert-Feet-to-Meters-Step-5-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight” :546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Make sure you cross out the units of measure. If your equation is set up as described above, all units of measure (except meters) will be crossed out. Remember that if a unit appears in both the numerator and denominator of a fraction (or two fractions being multiplied together), you can cross it out.

A good way to keep this in mind is to treat the slash as “each”. The words “each” in “12 inches in each foot”, “2.54 centimeters in each inch” and “100 centimeters in each meter”. When you think about your conversion equation this way, it’s easy to see how and why the units of measure are dropped – you just get an initial value in feet through a string. calculations, change it to inches, then centimeters, until you’re left with a meter reading.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/9/96/Convert-Feet-to-Meters-Step-6-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Convert-Feet- to-Meters-Step-6-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/9/96/Convert-Feet-to-Meters-Step-6- Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Convert-Feet-to-Meters-Step-6-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight” :546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Add the value in feet, then solve the problem. Insert the value in feet at the beginning of the equation. Then use a calculator to do the maths listed to find the final result, in meters.

Let’s say we want to convert 20 feet to meters. Here’s how to do it:
- 20 ft × (12 in/1 ft) × (2.54 cm/1 in) × (1 m/100 cm)
- = 240 in × (2.54 cm/1 in) × (1 m/100 cm)
- = 609.6 cm × (1 m/100 cm)
- = 6,096 m .

Steps

Quickly convert feet to meters

Presenting the unit conversion problem

Related Posts