03/ 25/ 2002
Whenever you're in contact with customers or clients outside of the United States or Great Britain, remember that they may not be used to operating with many of the designations for weight and length that we are accustomed to. For instance, a U.S. company that manufactures and delivers hardwood tables and chairs should always list dimensions of its products not only in feet and inches, but in meters and centimeters. By the same token, weights should be listed in kilograms and grams, as well as in pounds and ounces.
In today's Workshop, contributor Jeffrey Moses provides the numbers for conversion to metric measures. With a calculator and this list, you can easily do the math, even on the spot when you're on the phone with a customer.
To calculate the metric equivalent, multiply the number of U.S. increments by the following specified conversion rates. For example, to determine how many centimeters there are in 10 inches, simply multiply 10 by 2.54.
Length:
- Inches (in) to Centimeters (cm), multiply by 2.54
- Feet (ft) to Centimeters (cm) multiply by 30.48
- Yards (yd) to Meters (m) multiply by 0.9144
- Miles (mi) to Kilometers (km) multiply by 1.609
Weight (Mass):
- Ounces (oz) to Grams (g) multiply by 31.103
- Pounds (lb) to Kilograms (kg) multiply by 0.373
Volume/Capacity:
- Fluid ounces (fl oz) to Milliliters (ml) multiply by 29.573
- Cubic inches (in3) to Milliliters (ml) multiply by 16.387
- Quarts (qt) to Liters (l) multiply by 0.946
- Cubic inches (in3) to Liter (l) multiply by 0.016
- Gallons (gal) to Liters (l) multiply by 3.785
- Cubic feet (ft) to Cubic Meters (m3) multiply by 0.03
Area:
- Square inches (in2) to Square Centimeters (cm2) multiply by 6.452
- Square Yard (yd2) to Square Meters (m2) multiply by 0.836
- Acres to Hectares (ha) multiply by 0.405
- Acres to Square Meters (m2) multiply by 4,047
- Square Miles (mi2) to Square Kilometer (km2) multiply by 2.59
When preparing catalogues, sales sheets, letters and other printed material that includes both U.S. and metric measures, indicate the metric measurements in parenthesis after the U.S. For example: the ruler is 1 ft in length (30.48 cm); the property is 2 acres in area (0.81 ha); the bottle holds 1 quart (0.946 l).
When you need to convert metric measurements into U.S. measurements, simply divide the conversion number into the number of metric increments. For example, to find out how many inches are in 10 centimeters, divide 10 by 2.54.
These and other U.S. to metric conversions can usually be found in a dictionary under either "metric" or "weights and measures."
