Recognize that 1 meter equals 100 centimeters: 1 m = 100 c m .
Divide both sides of the equation by 100 to find the meter equivalent of 1 centimeter: 100 1 m = 1 c m .
Express the fraction 100 1 as a decimal: 1 c m = 0.01 m .
State the final answer: 0.01
Explanation
Understanding the Problem Let's break down this conversion! We want to know how many meters are in 1 centimeter.
Basic Conversion We know that 1 meter is equal to 100 centimeters. We can write this as:
1 m = 100 c m
Setting up the Equation To find out how many meters are in 1 centimeter, we need to divide both sides of the equation by 100:
100 1 m = 100 100 c m
Simplifying the Fraction This simplifies to:
100 1 m = 1 c m
So, 1 centimeter is 100 1 of a meter.
Converting to Decimal We can express 100 1 as a decimal: 100 1 = 0.01 . Therefore:
1 c m = 0.01 m
Expressing as a Power of 10 Alternatively, we can express 100 1 as a power of 10: 100 1 = 1 0 − 2 . Therefore:
1 c m = 1 0 − 2 m
Final Answer So, there are 0.01 meters in 1 centimeter.
Examples
Imagine you're building a model airplane and the plans are in centimeters, but your ruler is in meters. Knowing that 1 cm is 0.01 m helps you convert the measurements easily, ensuring your model is the correct size. This conversion is also useful in many other real-life situations, such as reading maps, sewing, and even in sports like track and field where distances might be measured in different units.
1 centimeter is equal to 0.01 meters, since 1 meter is defined as 100 centimeters. To convert centimeters to meters, you divide the number of centimeters by 100. Therefore, for 1 cm, the calculation is 1 cm = 0.01 m.
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