What is the Difference Between Length and Width? Conversions & Formulas

The Difference Between length and width, length is the longer side of a shape and width is the shorter side of any shape. Length is all about the distance of something from one end to another. On the other hand, width is all about the wideness of a particular object. You can explore more about them in the given blog.

What is Length?

Length in general terms, measures how long a shape is when it measures from one end to the other. It is like measuring the distance from point A to point B in a straight line. It’s all about the distance of something on a plane of paper. The length or distance measure is expressed in kilometres (km), metres (m), decimetres (dm), centimetres (cm), and millimetres (mm). To convert from one length measurement unit to another, you can use the below table.

Kilometres (km) to Metres (m)

km	m
1	1000
2	2000
5	5000
10	10000
100	100000

Metres (m) to Centimetres (cm)

m	cm
1	100
2	200
10	1000
50	5000
100	10000

Centimetres (cm) to Millimetres (mm)

cm	mm
1	10
2	20
10	100
50	500
100	1000

What is Width?

Width is the measurement of a distance from one corner to another horizontally. The width is usually the shorter side of the rectangle. It can be defined differently for different shapes in mathematics. Width tells us how wide a particular object is. You can calculate the width using multiple formulas, which you will get to explore in the later section of the blog.

What is the Difference between Length and Width?

There is a lot of difference between the length and width of a particular object. Length is all about measuring the distance from Point A to Point B. Whereas, width is all about how wide a particular object is. 

Also, length is the longest side for any shape and width is the shortest side of any shape. There are a lot of differences between these two. You can explore all of them using the given table of difference.

Particulars	Length	Width
Definition	Length is a measurement of a shape in a straight line from end to end	Width is the measurement of a distance from one corner to another horizontally.
Type of an Object	This can be a one, two, or three-dimensional object	This is typically a two-dimensional object.
What does it measure?	It measures the distance of an object from one end to the other along a straight line.	Width tells us how wide a particular object is.
Used to Measure?	It is used to measure how long a shape is.	It is used to measure how wide a shape is.
Examples	Length of a person, tree, or building.	Width of a road, table, or piece of string.

Length and Width Formulas 

Various length and width formulas can be used to calculate the length and width of a particular shape. However, you should have other figures of the formulas in that case, i.e. volume, surface area, or total surface area, to find out other elements in the formula. 

Formula

• Volume of a rectangular prism: length x width x height
• Lateral Surface Area of a rectangular prism: 2 [(length x width) + (width x height)]
• Total Surface Area of a rectangular prism: 2 [(length x width) + (width x height) + (length x height)]

Example 

A prism has a height of 10 metres and a width of 2 metres. If the volume of the prism is 60 cubic metres, what is the length of the prism?

If we put these figures in the formula: Volume of a rectangular prism: length x width x height,

We will get the result as the length of the prism is 3 metres.

A rectangular prism has a length of 5 metres and a height of 3 metres. If the volume of the prism is 45 cubic metres, what is the width of the prism?

If we put these figures in the formula: Volume of a rectangular prism: length x width x height,

We will get the result as the width of the prism is 3 metres.

Practice Question

Length

A rectangular prism has a height of 4 cm, a width of 3 cm, and a volume of 36 cubic centimetres. What is the length of the prism?

Width 

A rectangular prism has a height of 6 metres and a length of 2 metres. 

The volume of the prism is 36 cubic metres; what is the width of the prism?

FAQ’s

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