Questions: Converting Between Centimeters and Meters

Question 1

A table is 3 meters long. How many centimeters long is it?

• A. 3 centimeters
• B. 30 centimeters
• C. 300 centimeters
• D. 3,000 centimeters

Answer: (C)

Since 1 meter = 100 centimeters, you multiply the number of meters by 100: 3 × 100 = 300 centimeters. When you convert from a larger unit (meters) to a smaller unit (centimeters), you need more of them to cover the same distance, so the number gets bigger — not smaller.

Question 2

A student converts 4 meters to centimeters and gets 0.04 centimeters. What mistake did the student make?

• A. The student used the wrong unit system entirely
• B. The student divided instead of multiplied — centimeters are smaller than meters, so you always need more of them, giving a larger number (the correct answer is 400 centimeters)
• C. The student forgot that 1 meter = 10 centimeters
• D. The student calculated correctly

Answer: (B)

When converting from meters (a big unit) to centimeters (a smaller unit), you multiply by 100 because there are 100 centimeters in every meter. Dividing gives a number much smaller than the original — but centimeters are a smaller unit, so you always need more of them to describe the same length. A check: 0.04 centimeters is tinier than a millimeter, which makes no sense for a 4-meter table.

Question 3

500 centimeters is the same length as 5 meters.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: True

To convert centimeters to meters, divide by 100: 500 ÷ 100 = 5. So 500 centimeters = 5 meters. You can also think of it as 'packing' 100 centimeters into each group — 500 centimeters makes exactly 5 groups of 100.

Question 4

When converting a measurement from meters to centimeters, your answer will generally be a smaller number.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

The opposite is true. A meter is a larger unit than a centimeter, so it takes more centimeters to describe the same length. Multiplying by 100 makes the number bigger: 2 meters = 200 centimeters. A smaller number in centimeters than in meters would mean centimeters are bigger — they're not.

Question 5

If you know a measurement in meters and want to convert it to centimeters, should you multiply or divide by 100? Explain why using what you know about which unit is larger.

Model answer: Multiply by 100. A meter is a larger unit than a centimeter — there are 100 centimeters inside each meter. To express the same length using the smaller unit, you need more of them, so the number gets larger. Multiplying by 100 correctly 'unpacks' each meter into 100 individual centimeters.

A useful check: if your centimeter answer is smaller than your meter number, something went wrong. Smaller unit always means bigger count for the same length. This is a general rule for any unit conversion — moving to a smaller unit increases the number, and moving to a larger unit decreases it.