As humans revolutionized, they invented many things. One of the simplest of such inventions you encounter in your daily life includes the units of measurement. Across the world there are different measures for different things. Different places and institutions use various measures for measuring length, height, or weight. Here, we will understand the conversion of centimeters and inches and learn about how these units of measurements were made.
The History of Centimeters and Inches
Centimeter; The centimeter falls under the metric system also known as SI (International system of Units). The SI is a system that draws measurements using decimal divisions and provides simplified figures. The centimeter can be traced back to the French Revolution in 1799- when the ‘Academy of Sciences’ introduced the metric system. The word ‘centimeter’ is derived from the Latin words ‘centum’, meaning ‘hundred,’ and ‘metrum’, meaning ‘measure’. Thus, a centimeter can be defined as one hundredth of a meter. Thus, there are 100 cms in 1 meter.
Inch; The inch is a historical unit of measurement that comes from the imperial system originating from the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824. Dating back to ancient times, it was originally defined as the width of a thumb, however it kept changing its definition along the course of time. During the early 14th century, under the reign of King Edward II, the inch was defined as “three grains of barley, dry and round, placed end to end lengthwise.” At many other time periods, the inch was also defined as the combined length of 12 poppy seeds. Finally in 1959 the inch was standardized by the efforts of countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada by the International Yard and Pound Treaty. One inch was then standardized to 2.54 centimeters.
Formulas For Conversion
You can convert centimeters into inches and inches into centimeters by using two easy formulas. Let’s apply these formulas and learn to make these mathematical conversions,
Centimeters to Inches
For converting centimeters into inches, you multiply any given number of centimeters with 0.3937.
Formula:
Inches = Centimeters (n) (0.3937 in/cm)
Example:
Let’s convert 10 centimeters to inches.
Inches = 10(0.3937) = 3.937 in
Inches to Centimeters
Since we know that 1 inch equals 2.54 centimeters, we simply multiply the given number of inches with 2.54 and get our measurements in inches.
Formula
Centimeter = (n) (2.54)
Example:
Let's convert 10 inches into centimeters.
Centimeter = (10) (2.54) = 25.40 cm
Difference Between Centimeters and Inches
Feature |
Centimeters |
Inches |
System |
Metric |
Imperial/US Customary |
Symbol |
cm |
in |
Relation to meter |
1/100 |
2.54/100 |
Here’s a conversion table for inches and centimeters,
Inches (in) |
Centimeters (cm) |
1 |
2.54 |
2 |
5.08 |
3 |
7.62 |
4 |
10.16 |
5 |
12.70 |
6 |
15.24 |
7 |
17.78 |
8 |
20.32 |
9 |
22.86 |
10 |
25.40 |
30 |
76.20 |
40 |
101.60 |
50 |
127.00 |
60 |
152.40 |
70 |
177.80 |
80 |
203.20 |
90 |
228.60 |
100 |
254.00 |
Frequently Asked Questions
-
How many centimeters are in a foot?
There are 30.48 centimeters in 1 foot. -
How many inches are in a foot?
There are 12 inches in a foot. -
What units of length are there in the imperial system?
These are the frequently used units of length in the imperial system: Inches (in), feet (ft), yards (yd) and miles (mi) -
What units of length are there in the metric (SI) system?
These are the frequently used units of length in the metric system: millimeters, centimeters, meters, and kilometers. -
How many inches are there in one meter?
There are 39.3701 inches in 1 meter -
Who uses the imperial system?
Although most of the countries today have shifted to the metric system, many countries still use the imperial system including the US, Myanmar and Liberia. -
Is degree celsius an imperial unit?
No degree celsius is a metric (SI) unit.