How to Calculate in Square Meters

Choose a ruler with meter divisions. Choose a ruler or tape measure that is divided into meters (m) or centimeters (cm). These tools will make it easier for you to calculate in square meters, because they are designed according to the same measurement system.

• If you can only find rulers that are in feet (ft) or inches (in), then just use them to measure, then see the section to convert units to square meters.

Measure the length of the area. A square meter is a unit of measurement for the area, or size, of a two-dimensional object such as a football field or floor. Use measuring tools to measure one side of an object, from one corner to the other. Record the measured results.

• If the object is longer than 1 meter, be sure to include both meters and centimeters of the measurement. For example, “2 meters 35 centimeters”.
• If you want to measure the area of an object that is not a square or a rectangle, read the Polygon section.

If it is not possible to measure the entire length in one measurement, divide it into several times. Measure out with a ruler, then place a pebble or something down at an exact spot that’s easy to remember (like a 1-meter or 25-centimeter marker). Retract the ruler and continue measuring, starting at the marker. Repeat until you have measured the entire length, and add up all the results.

Measure width. Use the measuring tool you used in the previous step to measure the width of the same area or object. The width you measure in this step should match the length you just measured at a 90º angle, like two adjacent sides of a square. Write down the measured results.

• Unless the object you are measuring is much less than 1m long, you can round to the nearest centimeter when measuring. For example, if the width is slightly longer than 1 m 8 cm, take 1 m 8 cm as the measurement without using decimals or millimeters (mm).

Convert from centimeters to meters. Usually, the measurement is not round in meters. Instead, you will get a result containing both meters and centimeters, for example 2 m 35 cm . Since 1 cm = 0.01 m, we can convert centimeters to meters by moving the decimal point 2 digits to the left. Here is an example:

• 35 cm = 0.35 m, so 2 m 35 cm = 2 m + 0.35 m = 2.35 m
• 8 cm = 0.08 m, so 1 m 8 cm = 1.08 m

Multiply the length by the width. Once both measurements have been converted to meters, multiply them together to get the area measurement in square meters. Use a computer if needed. For example:

• 2.35m x 1.08m = 2,538 square meters (m ² ).

Round the result. If you have a long decimal result, say 2,538 square metres, you’ll probably want to round it to a number with fewer digits, say 2.54 square metres . In fact, since your measurement is not accurate down to the smallest unit of a meter, the last digit is incorrect anyway. In most of these cases, you can round the number to the nearest centimeter (0.01 m). For a more accurate measurement, learn to round to a certain number.

• Whenever you multiply two numbers with the same unit of measure (for example, meters), the answer is always in the form of squared units (m ² , or square meters).