Content

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• Advice
• What you need

The square meter is a measurement acreageUsually used to measure surfaces such as football fields or floors. For example, you measure the bed frame in square meters, then measure the area of ​​the room in square meters to see if it fits. If you only have a ruler or a tape measure that divides feet or non-meters, you can still use it to calculate the area, then convert it to square meters.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Calculate the area in square meters

1. 

   Choose a ruler with metric divisions. Choose a ruler or tape measure divided in meters (m) or centimeters (cm). These tools will make it easier to calculate in square meters, as they are designed with the same metric.
   • If you only find a ruler in feet (ft) or inches (in), use them to measure, then see the unit to square meter.

2. 

   
   
   Measure the length of the area. A square meter is a measure of the area, or size of, a two-dimensional object such as a football field or floor. Use measuring tools to measure the size of an object's surface, from one angle to the other. Record the measured results.
   • If the object is more than 1 meter long, be sure to include both meters and centimeters of the measurement. For example, "2 meters 35 centimeters".
   • If you want to measure the area of ​​an object that is not a square or rectangle, read Polygon.

3. 

   
   
   If you cannot measure the entire length in one measurement, divide it into several times. Stretch the ruler, then place a pebble or object down to a memorable spot (like a 1 m or 25 cm marker). Record the tape and continue measuring, starting at the marker. Repeat until you have measured all the length, and add all results again.

4. 

   
   
   Measure the width. Use the measuring device you used in the previous step to measure the width of the same area or object. The width you measured in this step should match the length you just measured at an angle of 90º, just like two adjacent sides of the square. Write down the measured results.
   • Unless the object you are measuring is significantly less than 1m, you can round to the nearest cm when measuring. For example, if the width is slightly more than 1 m 8 cm, take 1 m 8 cm as a measurement without using decimals or millimeters (mm).

5. 

   Convert units from centimeters to meters. Usually, the measurement is not circularly divided in meters. Instead, you get results that contain both meters and centimeters, for example 2 m 35 cm. Since 1 cm = 0.01 m, you can convert centimeters to meters by moving the decimal point 2 digits to the left. The following is an example:
   • 35 cm = 0.35 m, so 2 m 35 cm = 2 m + 0.35 m = 2.35 m
   • 8 cm = 0.08 m, so 1 m 8 cm = 1.08 m

6. 

   Multiply length by width. Once both measurements have been converted to meters, multiply them together to get the results for area measurements in square meters. Use a calculator if needed. For example:
   • 2.35m x 1.08m = 2,538 square meter (m).

7. 

   Round off the result. If your result is a long decimal, say 2,538 square meters, you will probably want to round it to a less-digit number, for example 2.54 square meters. In fact, because your measurement does not measure exactly to the smallest unit of a meter, the final digit will not be accurate nonetheless. In most of these cases, you can round the number to the nearest centimeter (0.01 m). For a more accurate measurement, learn how to round to a certain digit.
   • Whenever you multiply 2 numbers with the same unit of measure (eg meters), your answer is always in the form of squared units (m, or square meter).
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Method 2 of 3: Convert from another unit

1. 

   Multiply square feet by 0.093. Measure the width and length and then multiply them together to get the result in square feet. Since 1 square foot = 0.093 square meter, multiply what you just got by 0.093 to get your answer in square meters. Square meters are larger than square feet, so the number will be smaller for the same area.
   • To be even more precise, multiply by 0.092903.

2. 

   Multiply the square size by 0.84. If you get a square meter reading, multiply it by 0.84 to get your answer in square meter.
   • To be even more precise, multiply by 0.83613.

3. 

   British model with 4050. One acre is about 4050 square meters. If you want to be more precise, multiply by 4046.9.

4. 

   Convert square miles to square kilometers instead of square meters. A square mile is very wide, much wider than a square meter, so we convert it to square kilometers instead. Multiply the result by 2.6 to get the result of area in square kilometers. (Or multiply by 2.59 to get a more accurate result.)
   • If you really want to convert to square meters, then 1 square kilometer = 1,000,000 square meters.

5. 

   Convert square meters to other units of area, not length. The square meter is the unit of measure acreage, or two-dimensional surfaces. Compare them with units of measure length or a distance doesn't say anything. You can change from "square meter" to "square feet", but between "square meter" and "feet" then are not.
   • Do not use the calculations in this section to apply conversions to length units. Because we need other numbers.
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Method 3 of 3: Calculate the square meter with the polygons

1. 

   Cut the shape into sections. If you're working with problems, draw more lines into the shape to divide them into simpler shapes, like rectangles or triangles. If you are measuring a room or other objects, first plan the area, and do the same thing above. Measure each part and write in the diagram. Follow the instructions below to calculate the area of ​​each section, finally adding all the results together.

2. 

   Calculate rectangular parts as you normally would. To find the area in square meters, see the instructions for calculating area in square meters.
   • If you're measuring in other units, see the sections on other units.

3. 

   Calculate the right triangles in the same way, then divide by 2. A right triangle, since it has an angle of 90º like a square, will have a very easy area. Measure the two square corners (length and width), multiply them, then divide the result by 2 to get the result in square meters.
   • This works because the right triangle is a rectangle that is cut in half. Basically, you work out the area of ​​a rectangle as usual, then divide by 2 to get the area of ​​a triangle.

4. 

   Turn other triangles into right triangles, then measure them. Draw a line from any corner of the triangle to the opposite side, so that the two segments fit at an angle of 90º (Draw a corner of the square). You have just divided the old triangle into 2 parts, each part is a right triangle. See the instructions above for how to calculate the area of ​​a right triangle; Measure the area of ​​each small right-angled triangle and add the results.

5. 

   Calculate the area of ​​a circle. The area of ​​a circle is π.r, where r is the radius, or distance from the center, to a point on the circle or perimeter. Measure this distance, multiply the result by itself, then multiply the result by the number π in the calculator. If you don't have a calculator with built-in π, use 3.14 (or 3.1416 if high precision is required).
   • If you don't know where your mind is, ask a friend to hold the end of the ruler and walk around the edge of the circle. Hold the end of the other ruler and adjust your position until the reading does not change as the friend moves around the edge of the circle.
   • More complex curves require a more advanced method of calculation to be calculated. If you are only measuring rooms for practical purposes, it is easier to estimate the area by treating curved surfaces as a collection of lines.
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Advice

• Say "5 square meters" instead of "5 square meters". Basically both are correct, but the second method is often misunderstood as the area of ​​a shape 5 meters long and 5 meters wide (meaning that the area of ​​the figure is 25 square meters, or 5x5).
• If you are not sure whether you calculated the correct one or not, check your answers with the following football field measurements:
  • An American football field covers an area of ​​about 5,400 square meters.
  • A football association football field measures between 4,000 and 11,000 square meters.
  • A large mattress measures about 5 square meters.

What you need

• Straight ruler or measuring tape
• Computer