Worked Unit Conversion Example Problem
By
Chemistry Expert
- Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville
- B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College
Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and is a science writer, educator, and consultant. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels.
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Updated on March 05, 2019
This example problem demonstrates how to convert 100 yards to meters. Both yards and meters are common units of length, so the conversion is simple:
Yards to Meter Conversion Problem
An American football field has 100 yards of playing field. How far is this in meters?
Solution
Start out with a conversion factor:
1 yard = 0.9144 meters
Set up the conversion so that the desired unit will be canceled out. In this case, we want m to be the remaining unit.
distance in m = (distance in yard) x (0.9144 m/1 yd)
distance in m = (100 x 0.9144) m
distance in m = 91.44 m
Answer
100 yards is equal to 91.44 meters.
Many conversion factorsare difficult to remember. Feet to meters would fall into this category. An alternate method to perform this conversion is to use multiple easily remembered steps.
1 yard = 3 feet
1 foot = 12 inches
1 inch = 2.54 centimeters
100 centimeters = 1 meter
Using these steps we can express a distance in meters from yards as:
distance in m = (distance in yd) x (3 ft/1 yd) (12 in/1 ft) x (2.54 cm/1 in) x (1 m/100 cm)
distance in m = (distance in yd) x 0.9144 m/yd
Note this gives the same conversion factor as above. The only thing to watch out for is for the intermediate units to cancel out.
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Your Citation
Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Converting Yards to Meters - Length Conversion." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/converting-yards-to-meters-609316.Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. (2023, April 5). Converting Yards to Meters - Length Conversion. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/converting-yards-to-meters-609316Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Converting Yards to Meters - Length Conversion." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/converting-yards-to-meters-609316 (accessed July 23, 2024).