A conversion table is a useful tool that allows you to compare different units of measure and see how they relate to each other. For example, you may want to know how many cups are in a gallon, or how many kilometers are in a mile. You can use Excel’s CONVERT function to create a conversion table that shows the results of various conversions for a given input value.
The CONVERT function in Excel takes three arguments: a number value, the unit you are converting from, and the unit you are converting to. The syntax of the function is:
=CONVERT(number, from_unit, to_unit)
The number argument can be any numeric value or a cell reference that contains a number. The from_unit and to_unit arguments are text strings that specify the units of measure. You can find a list of valid unit codes in Excel’s help files or by typing =CONVERT( and selecting a unit from the drop-down list that appears.
For example, to convert 100 miles into kilometers, you can use this formula:
=CONVERT(100, "mi", "km")
This will return the value 160.93, which is the number of kilometers in 100 miles.
Procedures
To create a conversion table in Excel, you need to follow these steps:
- Enter the input value that you want to convert in a cell, such as A1.
- Enter the unit codes for the units of measure that you want to compare in a row or a column, such as B1:G1 or A2:A7. Leave at least one blank row or column between the input value and the unit codes.
- Enter the CONVERT function in the cell that is adjacent to both the input value and the first unit code, such as B2. Use the cell references for the number, from_unit, and to_unit arguments, and lock the references that need to remain constant when copying the formula. For example, if you want to convert the value in A1 from miles to different units, you can use this formula:
=CONVERT($A$1, "mi", B$1)
- Copy the formula across the row or down the column to fill the conversion table with the results of different conversions.
Example
To illustrate how to create a conversion table in Excel, let’s use a scenario where you want to compare different units of length. Suppose you have a measurement of 12 feet and you want to see how it converts to inches, yards, meters, centimeters, and millimeters. Here is how you can set up a conversion table for this scenario:
| A | B | C | D | E | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | in | yd | m | cm | mm |
| 2 | ft | 144 | 4 | 3.66 | 365.76 | 3657.6 |
In this table, cell A1 contains the input value of 12 feet, cells B1:F1 contain the unit codes for the units of measure that you want to compare, and cell A2 contains the unit code for the unit of measure that you are converting from. Cell B2 contains the formula =CONVERT($A$1, A$2, B$1), which converts 12 feet into inches. This formula is copied across the row to fill the rest of the table with the results of different conversions.
