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1Understanding the Units of Measurement
2Making the Conversion from MPH to KPH
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Article Summary
Reviewed byGrace Imson, MA
Last Updated: December 2, 2022Fact Checked
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If you have ever wondered what a vehicle’s speed would be when converted from miles per hour to kilometers per hour, or even if you are a fan of cricket and want to be able to convert the reported speed of pitches, do not fret. With a little background and a calculator handy, you can easily convert speeds expressed in MPH to KPH.
Part 1
Part 1 of 2:
Understanding the Units of Measurement
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1
Learn the length of a mile. The mile is a unit of length actually based on the Roman “mille passus” or “thousand paces.”[1] Though the exact length of the unit varied over time, it is now set at 5,280 feet.[2]
2
Learn the length of a kilometer. A kilometer is a common unit of measurement for length in the metric system. The metric system is a system of measurements in which each unit is a multiple of ten from the previous unit. The meter is the base unit, and a kilometer is equivalent to 1,000 meters.[3]
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3
Understand the distances over time. Each unit of distance doesn’t mean anything by itself. In order to calculate each distance as a speed, there must be a time component added. The most common way of measuring miles and kilometers as speeds is in how many miles or kilometers an object travels in one hour—hence per hour, which is the equivalent of saying X number of miles or kilometers divided by one hour.[4]
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Part 2
Part 2 of 2:
Making the Conversion from MPH to KPH
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1
Convert a mile to a kilometer. Since miles and kilometers are two separate units of measurement, one must first convert one mile of distance to one kilometer of distance before converting them as a distance over time. 1 mile = 1.6093440 kilometers.[5]
- Alternatively, if you want to convert kilometers to miles, you would need the inverse. 1 kilometer = 0.6214 miles.[6]
2
Get the speed in MPH. Now that you know the basics of the distances, you’re ready to convert them as speeds. The only other piece of information you need is the MPH speed that you want to convert.[7] For example, let’s say it’s 95MPH.
3
Multiply by 1.60934 (the kilometer equivalent). Once you have the correct speed in miles per hour, you can convert it to kilometers by multiplying it by 1.60934.[8] For the example of 95MPH, 95 x 1.60934 = 152.887KPH.
- If you are making the conversion for KPH to MPH, then you would instead use the opposite distance conversion (1km = 0.6214 miles) and multiply the KPH x 0.6214. For the previous example, if you take 152.887KPH, 152.887 x 0.6214 = 95MPH.
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Tips
In general, you can remember that speeds expressed in KPH will always be a higher number than equivalent speeds expressed in MPH.
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When it comes to vehicles, many have both MPH and KPH expressed on the speedometer.
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In addition to the United States of America, Liberia, Myanmar, and the United Kingdom all use speeds posted in MPH for roadways (though the UK uses the metric system for nearly everything else).
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About This Article
Reviewed by:
Grace Imson, MA
Math Teacher
This article was reviewed by Grace Imson, MA. Grace Imson is a math teacher with over 40 years of teaching experience. Grace is currently a math instructor at the City College of San Francisco and was previously in the Math Department at Saint Louis University. She has taught math at the elementary, middle, high school, and college levels. She has an MA in Education, specializing in Administration and Supervision from Saint Louis University. This article has been viewed 124,038 times.
44 votes - 56%
Co-authors: 16
Updated: December 2, 2022
Views:124,038
Categories: Conversion Aids
Article SummaryX
To convert miles per hour, or mph, to kilometers per hour, or kph, multiply the miles per hour by 1.60934. This is because one mile is equal to 1.60934 kilometers. If you needed to convert kph to mph, you would multiply the kilometers per hour by 0.6214. To learn the exact length of a mile or a kilometer, read on!
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