What Is Yard per Minute (yd/min)?
Yard per minute is a unit that shows how fast something moves by telling how many yards it travels in one minute. It is a way to measure slow or gentle speeds, such as walking, moving belts, or slow vehicles.
Definition
One yard per minute means an object moves a distance of one yard during one full minute.
More exactly:
- 1 yard per minute is the speed of 1 yard in 60 seconds
- 1 yard is exactly 0.9144 meters
So in metric terms:
- 1 yd/min = 0.9144 meters per minute
- 1 yd/min = 0.01524 meters per second
This shows that yard per minute is a fairly slow speed compared to everyday car or bike speeds.
History / Origin
The unit yard per minute was built from two older ideas, the yard for distance and the minute for time.
Yard
- The yard comes from old English measuring systems.
- In the past people used body parts like arms or steps to guess length.
- Over time these guesses became fixed rules, and the yard became a standard length in English speaking countries.
- In 1959 an agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries set 1 yard as exactly 0.9144 meters.
Minute
- The minute is a time unit that comes from ancient ways of dividing the hour.
- One hour is split into 60 minutes, and each minute is 60 seconds.
People began combining distance and time units to measure speed, for example miles per hour, feet per second, and later yards per minute. Yard per minute is not as famous as miles per hour, but it is still clear and useful in some settings.
Symbol & Abbreviation
The standard way to write yard per minute is:
- yd/min
Other forms you might see, though they are less standard, include:
- yd per min
- yards/min
- yards per minute written in full words
All of these mean the same idea, the number of yards moved in one minute.
Current Use Around the World
Yard per minute is not the main speed unit in most places, but it still appears in special uses, mostly in some English speaking countries.
Common areas where yd/min may be used
- Sports and exercise to describe slow walking or simple training plans in yards covered per minute
- Manufacturing and industry for machines that feed fabric, wire, rope, or cable at a steady rate measured in yards per minute
- Construction and trades such as laying turf, carpet, or pipe, where distance in yards and time in minutes are both familiar
- Education in science or math lessons to help students learn to convert between different speed units
Most countries use metric speed units like meters per second or kilometers per hour. Even in the United States and the United Kingdom, more common non metric speed units are miles per hour or feet per second. Yard per minute is therefore a more niche or secondary unit.
Example Conversions
Here are some useful conversion facts for yard per minute.
Basic conversion values
- 1 yard = 0.9144 meters
- 1 minute = 60 seconds
- 1 yard = 3 feet
- 1 mile = 1760 yards
From yard per minute to other speed units
- 1 yd/min = 0.9144 meters per minute (m/min)
- 1 yd/min = 0.01524 meters per second (m/s)
- 1 yd/min = 3 feet per minute (ft/min)
- 1 yd/min ≈ 0.054864 kilometers per hour (km/h)
- 1 yd/min ≈ 0.03409 miles per hour (mph)
From other speed units to yard per minute
- 1 m/min ≈ 1.0936 yd/min
- 1 m/s = 60 m/min ≈ 65.6168 yd/min
- 1 ft/min ≈ 0.3333 yd/min
- 1 km/h ≈ 18.24 yd/min
- 1 mph ≈ 29.333 yd/min
Worked examples
Convert 10 yd/min to m/s
Step 1. Change yards to meters: 10 yd/min × 0.9144 m per yd = 9.144 m/min
Step 2. Change minutes to seconds: 9.144 m/min ÷ 60 = 0.1524 m/s
Answer 10 yd/min = 0.1524 m/s
Convert 100 yd/min to km/h
Method 1. Use the factor above: 1 yd/min ≈ 0.054864 km/h
100 × 0.054864 = 5.4864 km/h
Answer 100 yd/min ≈ 5.49 km/h
Convert 60 yd/min to mph
1 yd/min ≈ 0.03409 mph
60 × 0.03409 ≈ 2.0454 mph
Answer 60 yd/min ≈ 2.05 mph
Related Units
Yard per minute is one of many ways to describe speed. Here are some related units and how they compare.
- Yards per second (yd/s) measures yards traveled in one second. It is 60 times faster than yard per minute for the same numerical value. For example, 1 yd/s = 60 yd/min.
- Feet per minute (ft/min) uses feet instead of yards. Since 1 yard = 3 feet, 1 yd/min = 3 ft/min.
- Meters per second (m/s) is the standard scientific speed unit in the metric system. 1 yd/min = 0.01524 m/s.
- Meters per minute (m/min) is another metric speed unit, often used for machines or lifts. 1 yd/min = 0.9144 m/min.
- Kilometers per hour (km/h) is common for road speeds and biking. 1 yd/min ≈ 0.054864 km/h.
- Miles per hour (mph) is widely used in the United States and United Kingdom for car speeds. 1 yd/min ≈ 0.03409 mph.
FAQs
What does yard per minute measure?
Yard per minute measures speed. It tells you how many yards something moves during one minute of time. Bigger numbers mean higher speed.
Is yard per minute a metric unit?
No. Yard per minute is based on the yard, which belongs to the imperial and US customary systems, not the metric system. The metric version would be meter per second or meter per minute.
Where is yard per minute used most?
It is mainly used in some English speaking countries, especially in technical fields like manufacturing or in sports and training where distances are often marked in yards.
How do I convert yard per minute to meters per second?
First turn yards into meters, then minutes into seconds. Multiply by 0.9144 to get meters per minute, then divide by 60 to get meters per second. You can also use the shortcut 1 yd/min = 0.01524 m/s.
Which is larger, 1 yd/min or 1 m/min?
1 m/min is slightly smaller than 1 yd/min, because 1 yard is about 1.0936 meters. So 1 yd/min ≈ 0.9144 m/min.
Why is yard per minute not very common?
Most everyday uses prefer miles per hour or kilometers per hour for travel, and meters per second for science. Yard per minute is more specialized and so appears less often.
Can I use yard per minute in science class?
Yes, but teachers usually prefer metric units like meters per second. However, yard per minute can be helpful for learning how to convert between different systems of units.
How fast is a walking speed in yard per minute?
Normal walking is about 5 km/h, which is around 91 yd/min. So a person walking at an easy pace might move about 90 to 100 yards per minute.