Centimetre
Contents
Key Stage 2
Meaning
A centimetre is a distance the same as 10 millimetres.
About Centimetres
- There are 100 centimetres in one metre.
- There are 10 millimetres in one centimetre.
- A thumb nail is about 1 centimetre long.
- A mouse is around 15 centimetres long.
Key Stage 3
Meaning
A centimetre is a unit of distance equivalent to 1/100th of a metre.
About Centimetres
- Centimetres are shortened to cm with a lower case c and a lower case m.
- Centimetres are for the length, width and height of everyday objects.
Converting to Centimetres
| Unit | To convert | Centimetres |
| 1 Megametre (1Mm) | Convert to centimetres x100,000,000. | 100,000,000cm |
| 1 kilometre (1km) | Convert to centimetres x100,000. | 100,000cm |
| 1 metre (1m) | Convert to centimetres x100. | 100cm |
| 1 millimetre 1(mm) | Convert to centimetres /10. | 0.1cm |
| 1 micrometre 1(µm) | Convert to centimetres /10,000. | 0.0001cm |
| 1 centimetre 1(cm) | Convert to centimetres x1. | 1cm |
Key Stage 4
Meaning
Centimetres (cm) are a unit of distance, displacement and wavelength 100 times smaller than the SI Unit; the metre.
About Centimetres
- Centimetres are shortened to cm with a lower case c and a lower case m.
- Centi means one hundredth so there are 100 centimetres in a metre.
Converting to Centimetres
| Unit | To convert | Centimetres |
| 1 megametre (1Mm) | Convert to centimetres x108 | 1x108cm |
| 1 kilometre (1km) | Convert to centimetres x105 | 1x105cm |
| 1 Metre (1m) | Convert to centimetres x102 | 1x102cm |
| 1 decimetre 1(dm) | Convert to centimetres x101 | 1x101cm |
| 1 centimetre 1(mm) | Convert to centimetres x1 | 1cm |
| 1 millimetre 1(mm) | Convert to centimetres x10-1 | 1x10-1cm |
| 1 micrometre 1(µm) | Convert to centimetres x10-4 | 1x10-4cm |
| 1 nanometre 1(nm) | Convert to centimetres x10-7 | 1x10-7cm |