Unit Conversion Made Simple: Length, Weight, Temperature and More
Recipes in grams, ovens in Fahrenheit, parcels in pounds, screens in inches — everyday life mixes measurement systems constantly. Here's how the common conversions work and a free tool that handles them instantly.
Recipes in grams, ovens in Fahrenheit, parcels in pounds, monitors in inches — daily life is a constant mix of measurement systems. Here are the conversions you actually need, plus a tool that does them for you.
Temperature: °C ↔ °F
°F = °C × 9/5 + 32
°C = (°F − 32) × 5/9
A 180°C oven is 356°F; 100°F is about 37.8°C. Useful for foreign recipes and weather forecasts. Skip the fractions with our unit converter.
Weight: grams, kilograms, pounds
- 1 pound ≈ 453.6 g (≈ 0.4536 kg)
- 1 kilogram ≈ 2.205 lb
So a 5 kg parcel is about 11 lb, and "1 lb of flour" is roughly 454 g. Quick mental shortcut: kg × 2.2 ≈ lb.
Length: inches, centimetres, feet
- 1 inch = 2.54 cm (exact)
- 1 foot = 12 inches = 30.48 cm
A 27-inch monitor measures about 68.6 cm diagonally. Going the other way, divide cm by 2.54. This is the maths behind screen, TV and tyre sizes.
Why numbers sometimes differ slightly
Most conversion factors aren't whole numbers — 1 inch = 2.54 cm is exact, but 1 lb = 453.592 g usually gets rounded. Different sources round to different decimals, so you'll see tiny differences. For cooking and everyday use it doesn't matter; for engineering or medication, keep more decimal places and use a precise converter.
The bottom line
A handful of factors cover most of daily life: °F = °C × 9/5 + 32, kg × 2.2 ≈ lb, inch × 2.54 = cm. Memorise the rough ones for mental maths, and when accuracy matters, run it through the unit converter — it covers length, weight, temperature, area and volume in one place, with no rounding mistakes.
FAQ
How do I convert between Celsius and Fahrenheit?
To go from Celsius to Fahrenheit: °F = °C × 9/5 + 32. To go back: °C = (°F − 32) × 5/9. So 180°C (a common oven temperature) is 180 × 9/5 + 32 = 356°F, and 100°F is (100 − 32) × 5/9 ≈ 37.8°C. A converter does it instantly without the fractions.
How many grams are in a pound, and kilograms in a pound?
1 pound ≈ 453.6 grams (about 0.4536 kg), and 1 kilogram ≈ 2.205 pounds. So a 5 kg parcel is about 11 pounds, and a recipe asking for 1 lb of flour needs roughly 454 g. For quick mental maths, 'kg × 2.2 ≈ lb' is close enough.
How do I convert inches to centimetres?
1 inch = 2.54 cm exactly, so multiply inches by 2.54. A 27-inch monitor is 27 × 2.54 ≈ 68.6 cm wide diagonally. To go from cm to inches, divide by 2.54. This is the conversion behind screen, TV and tyre sizes.
Why do conversions sometimes look slightly different?
Rounding. Most conversion factors are not whole numbers (1 inch = 2.54 cm is exact, but 1 lb = 453.592 g gets rounded), so different sources round to different decimal places. For cooking and everyday use the small difference doesn't matter; for engineering or dosing, keep more decimals and use a precise converter.