What's the difference between mile and kilometer?

Question

Accepted Answer

The mile and kilometer are both units of length but belong to different measurement systems. The mile is used in the Imperial system (predominantly in the United States, and for certain applications in the United Kingdom), while the kilometer is part of the Metric system, which is used by most countries around the world.

1. **Mile**: One mile is equal to 1,609.344 meters.
2. **Kilometer**: One kilometer is equal to 1,000 meters.

To convert between miles and kilometers, you can use the following conversion factors:
- To convert miles to kilometers, multiply by approximately 1.609.
- To convert kilometers to miles, multiply by approximately 0.621.

**Examples**:
- Converting 5 miles to kilometers: $5 \text{ miles} \times 1.609 \text{ km/mile} = 8.045 \text{ km}$.
- Converting 8 kilometers to miles: $8 \text{ km} \times 0.621 \text{ miles/km} = 4.968 \text{ miles}$.