Quick-reference factors for length, weight, speed, and area — plus why temperature is the one category that doesn't play by the same rules.
Length conversions use a fixed multiplication factor, since all length units share the same zero point.
Unlike length or weight, Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Kelvin don't share a common zero point. Water freezes at 0°C, 32°F, and 273.15K — three different numbers for the same physical state. That means converting temperature requires an offset formula, not just a multiplication factor:
This is why you can't simply scale a temperature the way you'd scale a length — multiplying 0°C by any factor still gives 0, but 0°C clearly isn't "no temperature."
Some unit names are shared between systems but defined slightly differently by historical convention. The most common trap: "ton" means 2,000 pounds in the US (short ton) but 2,240 pounds in the UK (long ton) — neither of which matches the 1,000-kilogram metric ton used almost everywhere else. Similar quirks exist for gallons and pints, where US and UK (imperial) definitions diverge. When precision matters, it's worth double-checking which system a source is using.
Our unit converter covers length, weight, temperature, speed, and area, using these same standard conversion factors, with results shown to six decimal places.
Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Kelvin don't share a common zero point, so converting between them requires an offset formula rather than a simple multiplication factor used for length or weight.
A metric ton equals 1,000 kilograms (about 2,204.6 lb). A US short ton equals 2,000 pounds, roughly 907.18 kg — noticeably lighter than a metric ton.
Some unit names are shared but defined differently by historical convention — most notably "ton" (UK long ton vs. US short ton) and certain volume units like gallons and pints, where US and UK (imperial) definitions diverge.