The metric system was developed in France in 1790 to establish a standardized system for measurement. The beauty of the metric system is that everything is based on the number ten. Ten millimeters to the centimeter, ten centimeters to the decimeter, ten decimeters to the meter. The most common units are millimeters, centimeters, meters and kilometers. The only major country still using the inch-foot-yard-mile system is the United States, although many areas of business and industry use the metric system because the rest of the world does. A quick calculation will convert centimeters to inches or feet.
- Paper and pencil
- Calculator
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Instructions
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1
Write down your centimeter value on a piece of paper.
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2
Enter your centimeter value into a calculator.
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3
Multiply that number by 0.3937. The result is your centimeter value in inches. For instance, if you have 20 centimeters, 20 x 0.3937 = 7.874 inches which you can round off to 7.87 inches. Write down your answer.
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4
Enter your centimeter value into a calculator. Multiply by 0.03281. The answer is your centimeter value in feet. Using the example above, 20 x 0.03281 = 0.6562 feet. If you divide 0.6562 feet by 12 inches per foot, you get 7.8744 inches which rounds off to 7.87 inches.