Square meters are used to measure a two-dimensional space.You can measure the footprint of a couch in square meters to see if it will fit in your living room.If you only have a ruler or measuring tape that uses feet or another non-metric unit, you can use it to convert to square meters.
Step 1: Measure with a meter stick or metric tape.
Select a meter stick ruler or tape measure with meters printed on it.Since they were designed in the same system of measurement, they will make it easier to calculate square meters.If you can only find a ruler with feet or inches, you should go to the section on converting to square meters.
Step 2: You should measure the length of the area.
Square meters are a unit for measuring area or the size of a two-dimensional object.Measure from one corner to the other with your measuring tool.Take the result and write it down.If the object is more than 1 meter, you should include the meter and centimeter parts of the measurement.For example, "2 meters 35 centimeters."The Complex Shapes section can be used to measure an object that isn't rectangular or square.
Step 3: Do it in stages if you can't measure the whole length at once.
Put a rock or other small object at an easy to remember mark after laying out the measuring tool.Pick up the tool and lay it down, starting at the small object.Continue until the entire length is covered, then add all your measurements together.Measure the room if it isn't a rectangular one.If the room is L-shaped, divide it into two non-overlapping rectangles.
Step 4: Measure the width.
The same tool can be used to measure the width of the object.The side you measure in this step should be close to the length of the object you measured earlier, like two sides of a square next to each other.Write this number down as well.If the object you're measuring is less than 1 meter, you can round it to the nearest centimeter.If the width is less than the 1 meter mark, just use "1m 8 cm" as your measurement.
Step 5: You can convert from centimeters to meters.
The measurement will usually divide into meters.You'll have a measurement in both meters and centimeters, for example "2 meters 35 centimeters."If you move the decimal point two digits to the left, you can convert a centimeter measurement into meters.Here are two examples: 35 cm is 0.35m, and 2m is 8 cm.
Step 6: Measure the length and width together.
To get the measurement of the area in square meters, you have to combine the two measurements.If necessary, use a calculator.2.35m x 1.08m is 2.538 square meters.
Step 7: To get a more convenient measurement.
If you get a long decimal, you'll want to round it to a number with fewer digits.The last digits are probably not accurate since you probably didn't measure correctly.You can round to the nearest millimeter in most cases.Round to the significant digits for a more accurate measurement.When you combine two numbers with the same units, the answer is always in the form of a unit squared.
Step 8: The square feet aremultiplying by 0.093.
To get a result in square feet, measure the length and width of the feet.To get the answer in square meters, divide your result by 0.093 to get it.It will take fewer square meters to cover the same area because they are bigger.If you want to get greater precision, use 0.092903 instead.
Step 9: The square yards aremultiplyed by 0.84.
If you have the measurement in square yards, divide it by 0.84 to get square meters.If you want greater precision, use 0.83613 instead.
Step 10: Aply acres by 4050.
4050 square meters is contained in one acre.If you want to be more precise, add up the numbers.
Step 11: It is better to convert square miles to square kilometers.
One square mile is larger than a square meter, so it is converted into square kilometers.If you divide the square miles by 2.6, you can find the area in square kilometers.If you want to be more precise, use 2.59 instead of 2.59.If you want to convert to square meters, you have to use 1 square kilometer.
Step 12: Square meters should be converted to units of area.
Square meters measure two-dimensional surfaces.It makes no sense to compare them with units that measure in one direction.You can convert between square meters and square feet, but not between them.Don't use the calculations in this section to convert between lengths.That requires different numbers.
Step 13: Break the shape into pieces.
Divide a math problem into simpler shapes by drawing or cutting lines in the shape.If you are measuring a room or other physical object, sketch a diagram of the area first.Measure each section and write it on the diagram.To find the area of each section, follow the instructions below.
Step 14: You would measure the pieces the same way.
The instructions for calculating an area in square meters can be found here.You should look at the section on other units if you are measuring in a different unit.
Step 15: Divide right triangles by two.
A right triangle with a 90o angle has an area that is easy to calculate.Divide the length and width of the two sides by two to get the answer in square meters.This works because a right triangle is the same size as a half circle.To get the area of the triangle, you divided it by two and found the same area as before.
Step 16: Measure the triangles that were turned into right triangles.
If you want the line to hit the opposite side at a 90o angle, draw it from any corner of the triangle.You have divided the triangle into two pieces.To find the area of a right triangle, measure each of the two sub-triangles separately, and add them together.
Step 17: The area of a circle is calculated.
The area of a circle is the distance from the center to the rim or perimeter.Take the distance and divide it by itself, then use a calculator to figure out the result.If you don't have a calculator with a function, use 3.14 instead.If you don't know where the center is, have a friend hold a tape measure and walk around the circle.While your friend walks around the entire edge, hold the other end of the tape measure and adjust your position.More advanced math is needed to calculate curved boundaries.It might be easier to estimate the area by pretending the curved surfaces are straight lines, if you are measuring a room for practical purposes.