Conversion: Meters to Feet

Since 1 yard  =  3 feet, we can use the conversion factor 1 meter  =  3.3 feet.  We can simplify this computation using  one of our favorite shortcuts, multiplying by 11. Remember that multiplying by 1.1 is simply multiplying by 11, and dividing by 10.

We can convert meters into feet  in two ways, both involving only mental calculations:

  1. Multiply the meter measure by 3 then by 1.1.
  • 7 meters = 7 x 3 x 1.1 = 21 x 1.1 = 23.1 feet
  • 23 meters = 23 x 3 x 1.1 = 69 x 1.1 = 75.9 feet
  • 30 meters = 30 x 3 x 1.1 = 90 x 1.1 = 99.0 feet

2.  Multiply the meter measure by 1.1 then by 3

  • 7 meters = 7 x 1.1 x 3 = 7.7 x 3 = 23.1 feet
  • 23 meters = 23 x 1.1 x 3 = 25.3 x 3 = 75.9 feet
  • 30 meters = 30 x 1.1 x 3 = 33 c 3 = 99 feet

Many will find the first method, easier to use.

For rough calculations, we can just multiply the meter measure by 10 and then divide by 3

  • 7 meters = 70 ÷ 3 = 23 1/3 feet
  • 23 meters = 230 ÷ 3 = 76 2/3 feet
  • 30 meters = 300 ÷ 3 = 100 feet

As seen in last example, the result is only 1% different from the previous method.

In this last example we used the conversion rate of 1 foot = .30 m whereas the exact conversion is 1 foot = 0.3048 meters. This is 98.4% accurate which is good enough for estimates.

This is another example how we can creative apply the 25 Math Short Cuts (and combinations thereof) in our everyday computing problems