A mile is an imperial unit of measurement commonly used in the United States to determine the distance between two locations. Kilometers are used to measure the same thing but are metric units. To convert kilometers to miles or vice versa you only need a mathematical formula that is quite easy to use.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Converting Kilometers To Miles
Step 1. Master the formula for converting kilometers to miles
1 kilometer equals 0.621371 miles (often shortened to 0.62). 1 mile equals 1.609344 kilometers.
- To convert kilometers to miles, simply multiply the number of kilometers by 0.62137.
- For example, start with the number 5 kilometers. People are often attracted to these conversions because they want to know how many miles are in a 5K race. The formula is 5 X 0.62137= 3.1 miles.
- You can also divide the number of kilometers by the number of kilometers per mile, which is 1,609 kilometers (rounded for simplicity). For example, 5 kilometers divided by 1,609 kilometers per mile = 3.1 miles.
Step 2. Convert kilometers to nautical miles
The regular mile is a land unit of measure. However, it's also a good idea to know the conversion for nautical miles.
- Conversions for nautical miles are different: Every 1 kilometer is equal to 0.5399568035 nautical miles.
- Nautical miles are calculated based on the circumference of the earth and are used for air and sea transportation.
Method 2 of 3: Using Online Tools to Convert Kilometers To Miles
Step 1. Use a conversion chart or an online calculator
The graph lists the number of kilometers and their equivalent in miles. The calculator allows you to enter the number of kilometers to get the number of miles.
- For example, the graph will show that 11 kilometers is equal to 6.84 miles. Meanwhile, 11 miles equals 17.7 kilometers..
- If you know how to use Microsoft Excel, you can also use Excel formulas to do the conversion. To convert kilometers to miles in Excel, the formula is CONVERT(x, "y", "z"). In the formula, "y" is the initial unit of measurement, "x" is the number of units, and "z" is the converted unit of measure.
Method 3 of 3: Using Estimates to Convert Kilometers to Miles
Step 1. Use the old trick to count
Multiplying any number by 0.062137119 may be too difficult for some. However, there is still another way to calculate it in your head.
- For example, the number of kilometers is 144. Divide by two. The result is 72. Then take a quarter. The result is 18.
- Now, add the two, half and quarter: in this case 72 plus 18. The result is 90. Here's the answer.
Step 2. Use the Fibonacci sequence to perform the conversion
This method is unusual, but useful. Fibonacci is a series where the next number is the sum of the two previous numbers.
- Start with two consecutive numbers in the Fibonacci sequence. For example, the numbers 5 and 8. There are 8 kilometers in 5 miles. To change back, read the result from the other direction, there are 5 miles in 8 km.
- This is useful for estimates only. For example, take the Fibonacci sequence numbers 21 and 34. These numbers will tell you that there are 34 kilometers in 21 miles and vice versa, when the exact answer is 33.79 kilometers.
- To convert a number that is not a Fibonacci sequence, define the initial number as the sum of the Fibonacci numbers and perform the conversion for each Fibonacci number separately. Say you want to convert 100 miles to kilometers. The number 100 can be the sum of 89 + 8 + 3. The Fibonacci number after 89 is 144, the Fibonacci number after 8 is 13 and the Fibonacci number after 3 is 5. So add 44 + 13 + 5 = 162 kilometers in 100 miles.
Step 3. Find another conversion for kilometers
Maybe you're tired of miles. There are many other conversions for kilometers.
- 1 kilometer is equal to 39,370, 07874 inches, 3,280, 839895 feet, 1,093, 613298 yards, and 100,000 centimeters.
- 1 kilometer is equal to 1000 meters.
