Decametre
From Halbeeg, the open encyclopedia · Af-Soomaali
41 languages
A decametre (symbol: dam) is a unit of length in the metric system. One decametre equals ten metres. The name comes from the metric prefix 'deca-', meaning ten, and the word 'metre', the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI).
The decametre is an accepted unit within SI, but its use is uncommon compared to the metre, centimetre, or kilometre. The standard practice is for people to prefer metric prefixes based on powers of three (kilo-, milli-), making 'deca-' and 'hecto-' relatively unused.
Conversions
One decametre equals 10 metres, 100 decimetres, 1,000 centimetres, and 10,000 millimetres. One kilometre contains 100 decametres. In imperial and customary units, one decametre is approximately 32.8 feet.
Related units
The square decametre, known as the square decametre (dam²), is equivalent to an are (a)—100 square metres. The are underlies the hectare (100 ares), which remains widely used in agriculture and land measurement. Similarly, the cubic decametre (dam³) equals 1,000 cubic metres, and is occasionally used in calculating water volumes in reservoirs.
Uses
The decametre appears in certain fields such as aerial surveying, road engineering, and introductory teaching of the metric system, where it is used to demonstrate how metric prefixes function. Scientific papers typically convert to metres or kilometres instead.