M/S to KM/H Converter
Type meters per second to get km/h. 10 m/s, a sprinter’s pace, is 36 km/h.
10 m/s =
36km/h
10 meters per second is 36 kilometers per hour.
- 1 m/s
- 3.6 km/h
- 1 km/h
- 0.2778 m/s
How to convert m/s to km/h
Multiply meters per second by 3.6. One meter per second covers 3,600 meters in the 3,600 seconds of an hour, and 3,600 meters is 3.6 km. The factor is exact, so there is nothing to round.
A physics problem gives a falling ball a speed of 25 m/s: 25 × 3.6 = 90 km/h. A breeze of 8 m/s on a weather station readout is 28.8 km/h.
Going the other way, divide km/h by 3.6. A car at 72 km/h is moving at 20 m/s, which tells you how many meters it covers in each second of reaction time.
kilometers per hour = meters per second × 3.6
- The meter per second is the SI unit of speed; the kilometer per hour is 1/3.6 of it, or about 0.2778 m/s. Source: BIPM, The International System of Units (SI Brochure, 9th edition).
How to estimate m/s to km/h in your head
Multiply by 4 and take away a tenth of the result. For 15 m/s: 15 × 4 = 60, a tenth of 60 is 6, so 54 km/h, which is exactly right, because 4 × 0.9 = 3.6. The trick works for every number, not just round ones.
For a quick feel: 1 m/s is a slow stroll (3.6 km/h), 10 m/s is a fast bike sprint (36 km/h), and 30 m/s is highway driving (108 km/h).
Meters per second to km/h chart
Speeds from walking to wind and traffic, in m/s and km/h.
| Meters per second (m/s) | Kilometers per hour (km/h) |
|---|---|
| 0.5 | 1.8 |
| 1 | 3.6 |
| 1.5 | 5.4 |
| 2 | 7.2 |
| 3 | 10.8 |
| 4 | 14.4 |
| 5 | 18 |
| 6 | 21.6 |
| 8 | 28.8 |
| 10 | 36 |
Show all 19 rowsShow fewer
| 12 | 43.2 |
| 15 | 54 |
| 20 | 72 |
| 25 | 90 |
| 30 | 108 |
| 35 | 126 |
| 40 | 144 |
| 50 | 180 |
| 100 | 360 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the factor 3.6?
An hour has 3,600 seconds and a kilometer has 1,000 meters. Multiplying by 3,600 and dividing by 1,000 is the same as multiplying by 3.6.
How do I convert m/s to mph?
Divide by 0.44704, the exact number of meters per second in one mph, or multiply by about 2.2369. 12 m/s is 26.84 mph.
Why do physics books use m/s instead of km/h?
Meters and seconds are SI base units, so formulas such as kinetic energy (½mv²) give joules directly when speed is in m/s. Using km/h would need a conversion inside every formula.