In the United States, most people measure their height, or the height of others, in feet and inches. But in the rest of the world, where the metric system is used, most people measure in meters or centimeters. For example, if you go to an amusement park in Asia or Europe, you may need to convert your height to centimeters to determine if you meet the minimum height requirement to safely enjoy some of the rides. Each foot equals 30.48 cm, and each inch equals 2.54 cm.
Multiply the number of feet in the height by 30.48 to convert to centimeters. For example, if the height equals 6 feet 2 inches, multiply 6 by 30.48 to get 182.88 cm.
Multiply the number of inches in the height by 2.54 to convert to centimeters. In this example, multiply 2 by 2.54 to get 5.08 cm.
Add the number of centimeters from Step 1 and Step 2 to find the height in centimeters. Completing the example, add 182.88 and 5.08 to find that 6 feet 2 inches equals 187.96 cm.
About the Author
Mark Kennan is a writer based in the Kansas City area, specializing in personal finance and business topics. He has been writing since 2009 and has been published by "Quicken," "TurboTax," and "The Motley Fool."
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