Have you ever wondered how we know the size of things? Well, that's where "measurement" comes in! We measure things for all sorts of reasons. In our daily lives, we often want to know how big, long, heavy, or how much space something takes up.

But just having a number isn't enough to give us the full picture. We need to know what units those numbers are measured in. For example, if someone says "three" without telling you the units, it could mean three inches, three feet, or three kilometers. So it's important to always mention the units when we talk about measurements.

Meanwhile，it's also crucial to use the same units when comparing measurements. Otherwise, we might end up comparing apples to oranges - or worse, making dangerous mistakes! For example, NASA once had an orbiter drift off-course because of a mistake converting from one unit to another.

That's why it's important to understand unit conversion and make sure we're using the right units. So, let's take a closer look at two common units of measurement - centimeters and inches!

How to Convert Inches (``) into Centimeters (cms)

Have you ever wondered how we measure things like pencils? We use different units in different parts of the world. In the United States, we use inches, but in other countries, they use centimeters. Even though they sound similar, 1 inch is actually longer than 2.5 centimeters!

If you need to quickly estimate how many centimeters are in a certain number of inches, just multiply the number of inches by 2.5. But be careful! If you get more centimeters than inches, something went wrong. And remember, if you're ever confused about whether to multiply or divide, just try one and double-check your answer.

Let's have a try:
If you need to change 20 inches to centimeters, and you get the answer 16 cm, you know it's wrong. Because 20 inches is longer than 16 centimeters. Remember, inches are longer than centimeters, so it takes more centimeters to make the same length as an inch. To get the right answer, you need to multiply 20 inches by 2.5, which equals 50 centimeters!

The Relation Between Inch and Cm

To understand how inches and centimeters are related, let's first learn what they are.

1. Inch Definition

When we want to measure things like how long or how heavy something is, we use something called a measurement system. In the United States, the most common system is called the customary system. It has all kinds of units like inches, cups, and gallons.

Inches are a type of unit we use to measure how long something is. An inch is a small unit, like the width of your finger. When we write down how many inches something is, we use the symbol " or "in" , like this: 18 inches is written as 18" or 18 in.

Did you know that there are half inches and quarter inches too? That means if you cut an inch into two equal parts, each part is called a half inch. And if you cut an inch into four equal parts, each part is called a quarter inch.

To sum it up, one inch is equal to 2 half inches or 4 quarter inches. And we can write it as 1 in. In is the smallest unit on a ruler.

Let's have a try:
One inch = 1 in
One half of an inch = 1/2 in
One-fifth of an inch = 1/5 in
One-twentieth of an inch = 1/20 in

2.Centimetre Definition

The metric system is used in most parts of the world to measure length, and it has a special unit called the centimeter, which is represented by the letters “cm”.

If you put 100 centimeters together, you get a bigger unit called a meter. A centimeter is even smaller than a millimeter, with 10 millimeters making up one centimeter. In fact, one centimeter is only about one-third the size of an inch!

3.Relation between Inch and Cm

Question：How many centimeters is an inch？

Answer：
1centimeter = 0.01 meter = 10millimeter = 0.3937inches

on the contrary

1`` = 2.54 cm

Convert Inches to Centimeters Example Problem

Question:

There is an eight-foot-tall person who is 96 inches tall. How many centimeters tall is he?

Conversion Precess:

1.To convert inches to centimeters, we use a special number called the conversion factor, which is 2.54.

2.To get rid of the inches, we set up a fraction with 2.54 centimeters in the numerator and 1 inch in the denominator.

3.We multiply 96 inches by this fraction, which will give us the answer in centimetres.

Answer:

The eight-foot-tall person is 243.88 centimeters tall.

Knowing how to convert inches to centimeters is super important for all budding engineers out there! Inches have been used in engineering for a long time, so you'll come across them a lot. Just remember that an inch is bigger than a centimeter and that the conversion factor is 2.54.

This way, you'll be able to communicate measurement values with people from all over the world! It's like learning a secret code that will help you work with people who use different units of measurement.