How To Convert Miles To Kilometers 9 Steps With Pictures

Let’s follow along with an example. If we want to convert 50 miles into kilometers, we would start by writing it out like this: 50 miles.

In our example, we can find the answer like this: 50 × 1. 6 = 80 kilometers. Don’t forget the “kilometers” label. You can also write “km” for short. If you’re doing this for homework, you may lose points if you leave it off. If you need help multiplying decimals, see WikiHow’s How to Multiply Decimals.

If we want to know exactly how far 50 miles is in kilometers, we can just multiply 50 by 1. 609347. This gets us 50 × 1. 609347 = 80. 46735 kilometers — about half a kilometer more. You only need to do this for really precise conversions. Just use 1. 6 for basic purposes!

In our original example, 80/1. 6 = 50 miles — right back where we started. If you used a different decimal than 1. 6, divide by it instead. In our alternate example above, we would divide by 1. 609347.

Let’s say that we want to figure out how many kilometers are in 5. 4 miles. In this case, we would write a fraction like this: 5. 4 miles/1. When you’re converting this way, always include the units in the fractions. They will be important later. [5] X Research source

We already know that there are about 1. 6 kilometers in a mile. We can use this to build our fraction. In the numerator (the top part), we would write “1. 6 kilometers” and in the denominator (the bottom part), we would write “1 mile. " This gives us 1. 6 kilometers/1 mile.

In our example, we have 5. 4 miles/1 × 1. 6 kilometers/1 mile. “Mile” appears on top in the first fraction and on the bottom in the second, so we can cross both “miles” out. Multiplying, we get 8. 64.

In our example, “kilometers” are the only units not crossed out, so we know our answer is 8. 64 kilometers.

For example, let’s say that you want to know what 5. 4 miles is in centimeters. You don’t know the conversion for miles to centimeters, but you do know that there are 1. 6 kilometers in a mile, 1,000 meters in a kilometer, and 100 centimeters in a meter. This is all you need to set up your problem: 5. 4 miles/1 × 1. 6 kilometers/1 mile × 1000 meters/1 kilometer × 100 centimeters/1 meter Notice that all of the units cancel except for centimeters (because it only appears once). Multiplying through, your final answer is 864,000 centimeters.