How To Calculate Linear Meters

Imagine that you're shopping for carpeting. In order to decide how long a roll you should buy, you must be able to express the area to be floored in terms of the carpet roll's length, which is measured in linear terms. The trick is remembering to take the width of the carpeting roll into account as you shift from area to a linear measure.

1. Convert Measurements to Meters

Convert your area measurements to square meters, if necessary, by using the following conversion factors. To convert square feet to square meters, multiply by 0.09290304. To convert square yards to square meters, multiply by 0.83612736. To convert square centimeters to square meters, divide by 10,000. To convert square inches to square meters, multiply by 0.00064516.

2. Divide Area by Width

Divide the area measurement by the width of your carpet roll to get the length in linear meters. The most common width for carpeting is 12 feet, or 3.66 meters. So, if you're buying carpet for a room that measure 32 meters square, you need a roll that is

\(32 ÷ 3.66 = 8.74 \text{ meters long}\)

3. Consider Real-World Implications

Consider the common-sense implications of your calculations; after all, no practical math problem is complete without examining how it actually plays out in the real world. In this case, you might want to add an extra 10 percent to your linear measurement to account for wastage, oddly shaped corners and careful placement of seams.