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Convert cm to mm

Interactive centimeters to millimeters conversion tool

The cm to mm converter below can be used to quickly and easily convert centimeters to millimeters. Simply enter the number of centimeters you want to convert and the calculator will output the corresponding value in millimeters.

What is the conversion factor between centimeters and millimeters?

A conversion factor is used to change the units of a measured quantity without changing its value. It represents the ratio (or fraction) that expresses the relationship between two different units. A conversion factor is always equal to 1.

The relationship between centimeters and millimeters is 10, such as:

Following the formula above, we can see that there are 10 millimeters for every centimeter, and for every millimeter, there are 110 centimeters (0.1 cm).

To convert from centimeters to millimeters, we turn our formula into a conversion factor that is equal to 1.

Both these fractions are equal to 1. The numerator and the denominator are equivalent, they are just expressed in different units.

Because we are converting from centimeter to millimeter, we will use the first fraction: 10 mm1 cm so that centimeters are canceled out. We then multiply the value in centimeters by this fraction to get the result in millimeters (see example).

Note that cm is in the denominator (bottom) of the conversion factor. This is important, you always want to have the unit you are converting from at the bottom and the unit you are converting to in the numerator (top).

You will find below how to use this ratio to convert from cm to mm. Just remember for now that the conversion factor for converting from centimeters to millimeters is:

Which is bigger, a centimeter or a millimeter?

When it comes to measurements, there can be some confusion over which is bigger, a centimeter or an millimeter. To find out which one is larger, we must first convert one unit to the other and then compare them.

• 1 cm = 10 mm
• 10 millimeters is bigger than 1 millimeter.
• 1 centimeter is, therefore, bigger than 1 millimeter.
• To be more specific, a millimeter is 10 times smaller than a centimeter.

centimeters to millimeters conversion table

How to convert centimeters to millimeters?

Multiplying any value by 1 will get you the same value back. You can do that one time or multiple times.

For example:

• 63 x 1 = 63
• 840 x 1 x 1 x 1 = 840

Multiplying by 1 is the first step in any unit conversion problem. The second step is to replace the number 1 with the conversion factor that is also equal to 1.

For example, if we want to convert 1000 centimeters into millimeters we multiply 1000 cm by the conversion factor of 10 mm1 cm

By replacing the number 1 with the conversion factor, centimeters are canceled out and we get the result in millimeters. And since the conversion factor is equal to 1, multiplying it with the original value won't change its magnitude and will only change its unit.

Based on this, we can conclude that 1000 centimeters are equal to 10000 millimeters.

Remember:

• When converting from centimeters to millimeters, we use 10 mm1 cm as a conversion factor.

Practice: centimeters to millimeters conversion

Try answering the following questions without using our custom conversion calculator. Knowing how to convert manually between centimeters and millimeters could prove to be useful, so give it a shot. Once you are confident you can convert centimeters to millimeters, there is no harm then in taking full advantage of the tools available to you.

How to convert 12 centimeters to millimeters?

We multiply 12 by the factor of 1

We replace the number 1 with the conversion factor for centimeters to millimeters

We multiply 12 centimeters by the conversion factor. Having centimeters in the denominator allows us to cancel out the undesired units (cm) leaving only millimeters in the final result.

Answer: There are 120 millimeters in 12 centimeters

How many millimeters are in 430 centimeters?

Multiply 430 by the conversion factor. Make sure the unwanted unit (cm) is in the denominator.

This allows us to cancel out the centimeters (cm) and leave the millimeters (mm)

Answer: There are 4300 millimeters in 430 centimeters

millimeters to centimeters conversion

• 1 mm = 110 cm = 0.1 cm
• To convert from millimeters to centimeters use our mm to cm converter

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