Difference between revisions of "Convert Square Meters to Square Feet and Vice Versa"
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#Understand what this means. Square meters and square feet are two ways to measure the same thing: area. If you cut out a square of paper one meter long and one meter wide, it has an area of one square meter. Similarly, a square of paper one foot long and one foot wide has an area of one square foot. The conversion "1 square meter = 10.76 square feet" means that 10.76 of your paper "square feet" would fit over one paper square meter. | #Understand what this means. Square meters and square feet are two ways to measure the same thing: area. If you cut out a square of paper one meter long and one meter wide, it has an area of one square meter. Similarly, a square of paper one foot long and one foot wide has an area of one square foot. The conversion "1 square meter = 10.76 square feet" means that 10.76 of your paper "square feet" would fit over one paper square meter. | ||
#*If you have trouble visualizing the decimal, picture 10 square feet fitting over one square meter, with a little space left over. The extra space has an area of 0.76 square feet. | #*If you have trouble visualizing the decimal, picture 10 square feet fitting over one square meter, with a little space left over. The extra space has an area of 0.76 square feet. | ||
| − | #See if your answer makes sense. It's easy to accidentally use the wrong formula, especially if you have a lot of conversions to do. After you find your answer, compare it to your original measurement to see if you made a mistake:<ref>http://www.mathsisfun.com/area-conversion.html</ref> | + | #See if your answer makes sense. It's easy to accidentally use the wrong formula, especially if you have a lot of conversions to do. After you find your answer, compare it to your original measurement to see if you made a mistake:<ref name="rf1">http://www.mathsisfun.com/area-conversion.html</ref> |
#*If you converted from square feet to square meters, your answer should be smaller than the original amount. | #*If you converted from square feet to square meters, your answer should be smaller than the original amount. | ||
#*If you converted from square meters to square feet, your answer should be larger than the original amount. | #*If you converted from square meters to square feet, your answer should be larger than the original amount. | ||
#Check on an online calculator. These aren't the easiest numbers to memorize, but you can easily look them up online if you forget. It might even be enough to enter something like "convert 8 square meters to square feet" into a search engine directly to get the answer. | #Check on an online calculator. These aren't the easiest numbers to memorize, but you can easily look them up online if you forget. It might even be enough to enter something like "convert 8 square meters to square feet" into a search engine directly to get the answer. | ||
| − | #*This is also more accurate than multiplying by hand, since it uses more precise values. (For instance, 1 square foot = 0.092903 square meters, or 1 square meter = 10.7639 square feet.<ref>http://www.metric-conversions.org/area/square-meters-to-square-feet.htm</ref>) Most of the time, though, multiplying by hand will give you a "close enough" answer. | + | #*This is also more accurate than multiplying by hand, since it uses more precise values. (For instance, 1 square foot = 0.092903 square meters, or 1 square meter = 10.7639 square feet.<ref name="rf2">http://www.metric-conversions.org/area/square-meters-to-square-feet.htm</ref>) Most of the time, though, multiplying by hand will give you a "close enough" answer. |
===Converting Based on Length Measurements=== | ===Converting Based on Length Measurements=== | ||
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#Convert meters to feet. To convert the other way around, multiply the length in meters by 3.28: | #Convert meters to feet. To convert the other way around, multiply the length in meters by 3.28: | ||
#*A 4 meter tall wall is (4 m) x (3.28 ft / m) = 13.12 ft. high. | #*A 4 meter tall wall is (4 m) x (3.28 ft / m) = 13.12 ft. high. | ||
| − | #Convert a square meter by using the length conversion twice. There aren't separate length and area conversions just to confuse you. Just as you multiply two length measurements to find the area of a square, you can multiply by the length conversion twice to turn it into an area conversion.<ref | + | #Convert a square meter by using the length conversion twice. There aren't separate length and area conversions just to confuse you. Just as you multiply two length measurements to find the area of a square, you can multiply by the length conversion twice to turn it into an area conversion.<ref name="rf1" /> Walk through it with this example: |
#*Let's say you want to convert one square meter into square feet. You've forgotten this area conversion, but you remember the one for length: 1 meter = 0.305 feet. | #*Let's say you want to convert one square meter into square feet. You've forgotten this area conversion, but you remember the one for length: 1 meter = 0.305 feet. | ||
#*Draw a square and label the length and width 1 meter each. | #*Draw a square and label the length and width 1 meter each. | ||
