Meters per Second to Feet per Second
Convert meters per second (m/s) to feet per second (ft/s). Both measure velocity, and the conversion comes up in driving, aviation, sports work.
The Formula
``
feet per second = meters per second × 3.28083989501
meters per second = feet per second × 0.3048
`
One meters per second is 3.2808 feet per second, and one feet per second is 0.3048 meters per second.
Conversion Table
| Meters per Second | Feet per Second |
|---|---|
| 1 m/s | 3.2808 ft/s |
| 2 m/s | 6.5617 ft/s |
| 5 m/s | 16.4042 ft/s |
| 10 m/s | 32.8084 ft/s |
| 25 m/s | 82.021 ft/s |
| 50 m/s | 164.042 ft/s |
| 100 m/s | 328.084 ft/s |
| 500 m/s | 1,640.42 ft/s |
| 1,000 m/s | 3,280.84 ft/s |
The Other Direction
| Feet per Second | Meters per Second |
|---|---|
| 1 ft/s | 0.3048 m/s |
| 2 ft/s | 0.6096 m/s |
| 5 ft/s | 1.524 m/s |
| 10 ft/s | 3.048 m/s |
| 25 ft/s | 7.62 m/s |
| 50 ft/s | 15.24 m/s |
| 100 ft/s | 30.48 m/s |
| 500 ft/s | 152.4 m/s |
| 1,000 ft/s | 304.8 m/s |
What Each Unit Is
Meters per Second (m/s) — the SI unit of speed — metres travelled per second. The coherent SI derived unit, used throughout physics and engineering.
Feet per Second (ft/s) — feet travelled per second, equal to 0.3048 m/s exactly. Used in US ballistics, fluid dynamics and some aviation contexts.
A Sense of Scale
Walking is 1.4 m/s- A sprinter peaks near 12 m/s
- Sound travels at 343 m/s
- A pitched baseball leaves the hand near 130 ft/s
- Walking is about 4.6 ft/s
Doing It in Your Head
Multiply by 10, then divide by 3. That is off by 1.60% — close enough to judge a
distance, a weight or a price, and not close enough to sign off on a drawing.
Exact Mental shortcut 32.8084 ft/s 33.3333 ft/s 328.084 ft/s 333.3333 ft/s
Precision
The factor 3.28083989501 is rounded. For engineering work carry more digits than the table above, and round only at the end — rounding at each step compounds.
In Code
`javascript
const meterPerSecondToFootPerSecond = (value) => value * 3.28083989501;
``
Where This Conversion Comes Up
- Driving
- Aviation
- Sports
- Shipping
- Weather
How Many Decimals Do You Need?
Rounding the factor costs accuracy, and how much depends on the factor. Converting 137 m/s with the factor truncated at each decimal place:
| Decimals kept | Factor | 137 m/s becomes | Error |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 3 | 411 | 8.5600% |
| 1 | 3.3 | 452.1 | 0.5840% |
| 2 | 3.28 | 449.36 | 0.0256% |
| 3 | 3.281 | 449.497 | 0.0049% |
| 4 | 3.2808 | 449.47 | 0.0012% |
The right number of significant figures is set by your input, not by the converter. If you measured meters per second to three significant figures, the answer in feet per second is only good to three — writing more digits claims precision the measurement never had.