How big is 5 centimeters?

Five centimeters is equivalent to two inches, which is the thickness of a two-inch by four-inch piece of wood. It is also equal to 50 millimeters.

Many people in the United States cannot yet understand the metric system; therefore it becomes necessary to convert metric units into understandable units such as inches and feet. To convert centimeters to inches, multiply the number of centimeters by 0.39. This provides the number of inches equal to centimeters. In this instance, five times 0.39 equals 1.968 which is rounded to two inches. In the metric system, five centimeters are equal to 50 millimeters.