This converter allows you to convert between two popular units for measuring area, the imperial unit of square inches ($in^2$) and the metric unit of square centimeters ($cm^2$).
As a first step, you’ll pick between the American and the British spelling at the top of the converter, so the way the word meter is spelled, which will translate to how the word centimeter is spelled, is done in the way you prefer (the British way is to spell it as ‘metre’ and ‘centimetre’).
You can then move toward the ‘CONVERT FROM’ section where you choose between square inches ($in^2$) or square centimeters ($cm^2$) as your input unit.
Choose between the same two units in the ‘CONVERT TO’ section, which will determine your output.
Alternatively, you can stick to the preselected units or simply click the icon with the arrows pointed in the opposite direction to swap their positions.
Enter the value you want to convert as a decimal number in the ‘VALUE TO CONVERT’ section.
After setting the number of decimal places you’d like your result to be rounded toward, click on ‘CONVERT’ and you’ll receive your desired result along with the conversion rate between the two units you are converting.
The ‘COPY’ button is placed conveniently right next to your result, so you can use it elsewhere if you need to.
An inch and a centimeter are the two units of length that define the two units of area we are trying to convert.
A square inch is defined as the area of a square with a side length of 1 inch.
A square centimeter is defined as the area of a square with a side length of 1 centimeter.
Based on this descriptive definition, we can come up with the exchange rates and formulae for manual conversions of these two units.
Starting with the fact that 1 cm is equivalent to about 0.39 in, while 1 in is equivalent to about 2.54 cm, the following can be written down.
1 cm = 0.39 in
1 in = 2.54 cm
Once we defined square centimeters and inches as squares with a side length of either 1 cm or 1 in, we can calculate said areas by simply putting the side lengths to the power of 2.
This not only creates the desired units of $cm^2$ and $in^2$ but also calculates the conversion rates between them.
From these conversion rates, two formulae can be developed, each suitable for a different input and output unit.
For converting $cm^2$ to $in^2$, we will use the following formula.
The next formula is more suitable for converting $in^2$ to $cm^2$.
Let’s demonstrate the usage of these two formulae on worked-out examples.
EXAMPLE 1: Betty is trying to publish a book through a French website. The website is offering her to print her book cover with an area of 42 $cm^2$. Betty is not familiar with $cm^2$ and needs to know the area in $in^2$. How many $in^2$ would this cover have?
We will use the first formula, as we are trying to convert $cm^2$ into $in^2$. We substitute 42 for $cm^2$ and count as follows.
EXAMPLE 2: A device has a screen with an area of 8 $in^2$. Tony would like to know the area in $cm^2$, a unit he is more familiar with. How many $cm^2$ does the screen have, rounded to one decimal place?
We will use the second formula, as we are converting $in^2$ to $cm^2$. We substitute 8 for $in^2$ and calculate as follows.
We round the result to one decimal place and get an area of 51.6 $cm^2$.
In order to gain a better understanding of the size of a square inch and a square centimeter, we can first remember, that around 6 to 7 square centimeters fit into a square inch.
However, it might be easier said than imagined. That is why we offer 4 examples of everyday items and their areas in either $in^2$ or $cm^2$ for an easier intuitive approximation of the size of these units.
Hi, my name is Andy Demar and I have been working in the postal industry for almost 15 years. I have seen and heard about it all - big packages, small parcels, suspicious boxes, difficulties with getting them from A to B.
