Conversion of Area common units

What is Area?

Area is an abstract concept used to describe the size of a surface. It is commonly expressed in square units, such as square feet, square meters, and square miles. Area is a two-dimensional measurement, which means it measures length and width but not depth. Measurement of area is an important part of mathematics and is used to determine the size of a shape or object.

History and Development of Area Units

Throughout history, many cultures around the world have developed their own systems of measurements for area. Early systems of measurement are known to exist in the ancient cultures of Mesopotamia, India, China, and Greece. Each of these cultures used different units of measurement for area. The most widely used in modern times is the metric system, which is based on the units of square meters, hectare, acres, square feet and square inches.

Uses of Area Units

Units of area are used in a variety of contexts in science, engineering, and mathematics. In geography, units of area are used to measure the size of different land formations, such as countries, states, and cities. In agriculture, area is a key measurement in understanding crop yields and areas of farm land. In construction, area measurements are used for building foundations and for pricing materials. In mathematics, area is used in computing the surface area of a shape.

Reference & Record Values of Area Units

Below are some examples of reference and record values for different units of area:

1. Square meter (m²): 1 m2 = 10.76 square feet
2. Square kilometer (km²): Biggest square km² is Sea of Okhotsk (4.378 million km²)
3. Hectare (ha): largest hectare measured is Kansas in the USA – 402,000 ha
4. Square mile (mi²): largest square mile is Greenland (840,000 mi²)
5. Acre (ac): largest acre is in Iran (140,000 ac)
6. Square yard (yd²): smallest square yd² is at the Whitehall Estate, Scotland (2.1 yd²)
7. Square foot (ft²): smallest square ft² is at Buckingham Palace, England (11 ft²)
8. Square inch (in²): smallest square inch is a line of sand particles (2.25 in²)
9. Barn (b): largest barn is in the US (2.44 million b)
10. Are (a): smallest are is the square root of 4 (4.47 a)
11. Square centimeter (cm²): smallest square cm² is the non-intersecting lines on a three dimensional square (4 cm²)
12. Square millimeter (mm²): smallest square mm² is the area of atoms (0.3 mm²)

Conversion of Area Units

Converting units of area can be a complex process that depends on the specific unit of area being converted. Different units measure area in different ways and therefore may require complex calculations to accurately convert the area from one unit to another. Some units can be easily converted because they are related in a linear fashion. For example, one square inch is equal to 6.4516 square centimeters. However, other units are not so easily converted, such as hectares and acres. To convert from one unit to another, a chart or formula may be necessary to accurately convert the area.