Convert 0.5 m² to cm² Step by Step

Step by step

The question

Question: change 0.5 m² to square centimeters.

1 Change the length

This square is 1 meter on each side.

Its area is 1 square meter.

1 meter is 100 centimeters.

So each side is 100 centimeters long.

1 m = 100 cm

2 Change the area

So the square holds 100 rows of 100 small squares, each 1 square centimeter.

We draw only a few of them.

So 1 square meter is 100 centimeters times 100 centimeters.

1 m² = 100 cm × 100 cm

100 times 100 is 10,000.

100 × 100 = 10,000

So 1 m² = 10,000 cm².

Not 100: the 100 comes in twice.

1 m² = 10,000 cm²

3 Multiply

Each square meter is 10,000 square centimeters.

We have 0.5 of them, so we multiply: big unit to small unit.

0.5 m² = 0.5 × 10,000 cm²

Careful!

Times 100 only changes a length.

A square has two sides to change: times 100, and times 100 again.

Careful: not 0.5 × 100 ✗

Times 10,000: the point moves 4 places to the right.

× 10,000: the point moves 4 places right

So 0.5 m² = 5,000 cm².

0.5 m² = 5,000 cm²

4 Check

Let's check: go back the other way.

Divide by 10,000.

5,000 ÷ 10,000 = 0.5

We get 0.5 square meters again.

So it is right!

Let's look back.

First: change the length.

Then: change the area.

Then: multiply.

Last: check.

Answer