What is metre per second?

Metre per second is the SI unit of speed. It is used in physics, engineering, and scientific contexts to express velocity, and serves as the reference unit for all speed calculations in this converter.

Real-world uses

Metres per second is the SI unit of speed used in physics, engineering, and scientific research. Wind speed in meteorological data, projectile velocities, and fluid flow rates are expressed in m/s. The speed of sound at sea level is approximately 343 m/s.

History

As an SI derived unit, metres per second became the standard scientific speed unit with the adoption of the SI system in 1960. It naturally combines the base units of length (metre) and time (second).

Common mistakes

Forgetting to convert from km/h—divide by 3.6, not by 3.0 or 60. Also, confusing velocity (vector with direction) with speed (scalar magnitude), both expressed in m/s but with different physical meanings.

What is metre per minute?

Metre per minute is a unit of speed expressing the distance in metres covered in one minute. It is used in industrial machinery, conveyor belt speeds, and slow-motion technical processes.

Real-world uses

Metres per minute is used in manufacturing for conveyor belt speeds, CNC machine feed rates, and surface cutting speeds. Treadmill speeds at low settings may be displayed in m/min. It is also used for walking speed in pedestrian traffic studies.

History

Metres per minute became a practical unit in industrial settings where processes operate too slowly for m/s to give convenient numbers but too fast for m/h. It is particularly entrenched in machining and metalworking standards.

Common mistakes

Confusing metres per minute with metres per second—they differ by a factor of 60. An average walking speed of about 80 m/min equates to roughly 1.33 m/s or 4.8 km/h.

When is this conversion used?

Converting metre per second to metre per minute is useful in the speed domain when comparing values across different measurement standards or applying formulas that require a specific unit.

Worked examples

1 metre per second = 60 metre per minute

1 metre per minute = 0.01666667 metre per second

How to convert metre per second to metre per minute

To convert metre per second to metre per minute, multiply the value by 60.

To convert metre per minute back to metre per second, multiply by 0.01666667.

Measurement standards

The SI unit of speed is metres per second (m/s), a derived unit requiring no independent definition. The knot is defined as exactly one nautical mile (1,852 metres) per hour and is sanctioned for maritime and aeronautical navigation by the International Civil Aviation Organization.

Did you know?

The fastest human-made object is the Parker Solar Probe, which reached 635,266 km/h (about 176 km/s) in 2024 during a close pass of the Sun — fast enough to travel from New York to Tokyo in under a minute.

Quick reference: metre per second to metre per minute

metre per second	metre per minute
0.1	6
0.5	30
1	60
2	120
5	300
10	600
25	1,500
50	3,000
100	6,000
250	15,000
500	30,000
1,000	60,000

Common values

	metre per second	metre per minute
Walking speed	1.4 metre per second	84 metre per minute
City speed limit	13.9 metre per second	834 metre per minute
Highway driving	31.3 metre per second	1,878 metre per minute
Commercial aircraft	250 metre per second	15,000 metre per minute
Speed of sound (sea level)	340.29 metre per second	20,417.4 metre per minute

Available Speed units

More metre per second conversions

Assumption: Mach uses an approximate sea-level reference (about 340.29 m/s).