It’s easy converting meters to yards and yards to meters. Both meters and yards are units of length or distance. The meter is the SI unit of length, while yards are an imperial unit used primarily in the United States. In 1959, international agreement standardized the yard, making it exactly 0.9144 meters. The meter, in turn, is the distance traveled by light in a vacuum in 1/299792458th of one second.
Meters to Yards Conversion Factor
When converting between meters and yards, use either conversion factor:
1 meter = 1.0936 yards
1 yard = 0.9144 meters
The second conversion factor is more precise because it is an exact value (not rounded).
Which Is Longer?
A meter is slightly longer than a yard. For short distances, it doesn’t make much of a difference. For longer distances, keeping this fact in mind comes in handy.
Meters to Yards Conversion – How Many Yards Are in 100 Meters?
How do you use the conversion factor? As an example, find how many yards are in 100 meters.
Yards = Meters ÷ 0.9144
Yards = 100 ÷ 0.9144 = 109.3613
Using four significant figures, there are 109.4 yards in 100 meters.
You can use the other conversion factor, if you prefer:
Yards = Meters x 1.0936
Yards = 100 x 1.0936 = 109.36 yards
Let’s try another example. How many meters are in 25 yards?
Yards = 25 ÷ 0.9144 = 27.34
Yards to Meters Conversion – How Many Meters Are in 100 Yards?
Find how many meters are in 100 yards by applying the conversion factor:
Meters = Yards x 0.9144
Meters = 100 x 0.9144 = 91.44 yards
There are 91.44 yards in 100 meters.
You get the same answer using the other conversion factor:
Meters = Yards ÷ 1.0936
meters = 100 ÷ 1.0936 = 91.44 yards
Check Your Work
Whichever conversion you do, check your work. The number of yards is slightly is always slightly larger than the equivalent number of meters. Also, keep an eye on significant figures. For example, use 1 yard = 0.91 meters (two significant figures) when finding how many yards are in 2.2 meters and then report the answer again using two significant figures.
References
- Bennett, Keith (2004). The Metrology Handbook. American Society for Quality Measurement. ISBN 978-0-87389-620-7.
- Connor, R.D. (1987). The Weights and Measures of England. HMSO. ISBN 978-0-11-290435-9.
- Thompson, Ambler; Taylor, Barry N. (2008). “Guide for the Use of the International System of Units.” NIST Special Publication 811. Gaithersburg, MD: National Institute of Standards and Technology.