120 kilometers per hour (km/h) is equal to 33.3333 meters per second (mps).
To convert km/h to mps, you divide the speed value by 3.6 because 1 kilometer equals 1000 meters and 1 hour equals 3600 seconds, so converting the units requires this ratio.
Conversion Tool
Result in mps:
Conversion Formula
The conversion formula from kilometers per hour (km/h) to meters per second (mps) is:
mps = km/h × (1000 m / 1 km) ÷ (3600 s / 1 h)
This formula works because the distance in kilometers is converted to meters by multiplying by 1000, and the time in hours is converted to seconds by multiplying by 3600. Dividing the two gives the speed in meters per second.
Example calculation:
- Given speed: 120 km/h
- Convert 120 km to meters: 120 × 1000 = 120,000 meters
- Convert 1 hour to seconds: 1 × 3600 = 3600 seconds
- Divide meters by seconds: 120,000 ÷ 3600 = 33.3333 mps
Conversion Example
- Convert 90 km/h to mps:
- Multiply 90 by 1000 to get meters: 90 × 1000 = 90,000 m
- Convert hour to seconds: 3600 s
- Divide meters by seconds: 90,000 ÷ 3600 = 25 mps
- Convert 110 km/h to mps:
- 110 × 1000 = 110,000 meters
- 3600 seconds in an hour
- 110,000 ÷ 3600 = 30.5556 mps
- Convert 135 km/h to mps:
- 135 × 1000 = 135,000 meters
- Divide by 3600 seconds
- 135,000 ÷ 3600 = 37.5 mps
- Convert 100 km/h to mps:
- 100 × 1000 = 100,000 meters
- Divide by 3600 seconds
- 100,000 ÷ 3600 = 27.7778 mps
Conversion Chart
| Speed (km/h) | Speed (mps) |
|---|---|
| 95.0 | 26.3889 |
| 100.0 | 27.7778 |
| 105.0 | 29.1667 |
| 110.0 | 30.5556 |
| 115.0 | 31.9444 |
| 120.0 | 33.3333 |
| 125.0 | 34.7222 |
| 130.0 | 36.1111 |
| 135.0 | 37.5000 |
| 140.0 | 38.8889 |
| 145.0 | 40.2778 |
This chart can be used to quickly find the equivalent meters per second speed for any value between 95 km/h to 145 km/h without calculating manually. Just look up the km/h value in the left column and find the corresponding mps in the right column.
Related Conversion Questions
- How many meters per second is 120 kilometers per hour?
- What is the formula to convert 120 km/h to mps?
- Can 120 km/h be converted to meters per second directly?
- How fast is 120 km per hour in meters each second?
- If a car travels at 120 km/h, what is its speed in mps?
- Is 33.33 mps equal to 120 km/h?
- How to convert 120 km/h speed into meters per seconds?
Conversion Definitions
km (kilometer): A kilometer is a metric unit of length equal to 1,000 meters. It’s used widely for measuring distances, especially for roads, geographical spans, and travel distances. One kilometer equals about 0.621 miles. It is part of the International System of Units.
mps (meters per second): Meters per second is a unit of speed showing how many meters an object travels in one second. It is used mostly in physics and engineering to express velocity. One mps equals 3.6 km/h, making it useful for converting between metric speed units.
Conversion FAQs
Why do we divide km/h by 3.6 to get mps?
Since 1 km equals 1000 meters and 1 hour equals 3600 seconds, dividing the km/h value by 3.6 converts the units properly. This is because 3600 seconds divided by 1000 meters equals 3.6, which makes the unit conversion simpler by using a single divisor.
Can I convert mps back to km/h using the same method?
Yes, to convert meters per second to kilometers per hour, multiply the mps value by 3.6. This reverses the original conversion process by scaling meters to kilometers and seconds to hours accordingly.
Is the conversion affected by rounding numbers?
When converting km/h to mps, rounding can affect precision, especially in scientific calculations. Usually, results are rounded to 4 decimal places for practical use, but if high accuracy is needed, avoid rounding until the final step.
Are meters per second and km/h used for different purposes?
Meters per second is more common in scientific contexts like physics experiments, while km/h is used in everyday life for speed limits and travel distances. Both measure speed but in units suited for their specific applications.
What happens if inputting negative values in the conversion tool?
Negative values represent speed in opposite direction or reverse movement. The conversion works the same mathematically, converting negative km/h to negative mps, but in physical terms, speed is often considered positive and direction is handled separately.
Last Updated : 20 June, 2025
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Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.