Examples of converting units of area and volume
Example
Convert \(50,000~cm^2\) into \(m^2\).
\(1~m = 100~cm\).
So, \(1~m^2 = 100~cm \times 100~cm = 10,000~cm^2\).
You are converting from a smaller unit \((cm^2)\) to a larger unit \((m^2)\), so divide.
\(50,000~cm^2 = 50,000 \div 10,000 = 5~m^2\).
Question
Convert \(10~cm^3\) into \(mm^3\).
\(1~cm = 10~mm\).
So, \({1}~cm^{3} = {10}~mm\times{10}~mm\times{10}~mm = {1,000}~mm^{3}\).
You are converting from a larger unit \((cm^3)\) to a smaller unit \((mm^3)\), so multiply.
\({10}~cm^{3} = {10}\times{1,000} = {10,000}~mm^{3}\)