What is 500 cm converted to meters? Can you complete the statement? 500 cm = ?
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
Of course. Here is the completed statement and a detailed explanation of the conversion.
The correct answer is 5.
The completed statement is: 500 cm = 5 m
Explanation
To understand this conversion, we need to look at the relationship between centimeters (cm) and meters (m) within the metric system. The metric system is designed to be simple, with units based on powers of ten.
The fundamental relationship to remember is that there are 100 centimeters in 1 meter. The prefix “centi-” itself means one-hundredth. So, one centimeter is literally one-hundredth of a meter (1 cm = 1/100 m).
With this key fact, there are two common ways to perform the conversion from centimeters to meters:
1. Division Method:
Since you are converting from a smaller unit (centimeters) to a larger unit (meters), you will end up with a smaller number. This means you need to divide. To find out how many meters are in 500 centimeters, you simply divide the number of centimeters by 100.
- Calculation: 500 cm / 100 = 5 m
Therefore, 500 centimeters is equal to 5 meters.
2. Decimal Point Method:
A quick way to divide by 100 is to move the decimal point two places to the left. In the number 500, the decimal point is assumed to be at the end (500.).
- Start with the number: 500.
- Move the decimal point one place to the left: 50.0
- Move it a second place to the left: 5.00
This shows that 500 becomes 5.00, or simply 5. So, 500 cm is equal to 5 m.
Both methods yield the same correct answer. The conversion is a core concept in the metric system, used for measuring length and distance in everyday situations, from measuring furniture to calculating the length of a room.
