Convert calories to J

Conversion Calculator

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How to convert calories to J: Enter a value in the calories field and click on the "Calculate J" button. Your answer will appear in the J field.

Conversion Definitions

The following is a list of definitions relating to conversions between calories and joules.

What is a calorie (cal)?

A calorie (or thermochemical calorie) is a unit of energy in the International System of Units (SI). The symbol for calorie is cal. There are 0.23900574 calories in a joule. A calorie is measured as the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1°C from a standard initial temperature at a pressure of 1 atmosphere. A calorie is also called a "small calorie" or "gram calorie".

What is a joule (J)?

A joule is a unit of energy in the International System of Units (SI). The symbol for joule is J. There are 4.184 joules in a calorie.

Conversion Formula

Let's take a closer look at the conversion formula so that you can do these conversions yourself with a calculator or with an old-fashioned pencil and paper.

The formula to convert from calories to J is:

J = calories x 4.184

Conversion Example

Next, let's look at an example showing the work and calculations that are involved in converting from calories to joules (cal to J).

Calorie to Joule Conversion Example

Task: Convert 4 calories to joules (show work)

Formula:
calories x 4.184 = J

Calculations:
4 calories x 4.184 = 16.736 J

Result:
4 calories is equal to 16.736 J

Conversion Table

For quick reference purposes, below is a conversion table that you can use to convert from calories to joules.

Calories to Joules Conversion Chart

calories (cal)	joules (J)
1 cal	4.184 J
2 cal	8.368 J
3 cal	12.552 J
4 cal	16.736 J
5 cal	20.92 J
6 cal	25.104 J
7 cal	29.288 J
8 cal	33.472 J
9 cal	37.656 J
10 cal	41.84 J
20 cal	83.68 J
30 cal	125.52 J
40 cal	167.36 J
50 cal	209.2 J
75 cal	313.8 J
100 cal	418.4 J
250 cal	1,046 J
500 cal	2,092 J
750 cal	3,138 J
1,000 cal	4,184 J
2,500 cal	10,460 J
5,000 cal	20,920 J
7,500 cal	31,380 J
10,000 cal	41,840 J
25,000 cal	104,600 J
50,000 cal	209,200 J
75,000 cal	313,800 J
100,000 cal	418,400 J
250,000 cal	1,046,000 J

Related Units

This table provides a summary of the Energy units within their respective measurement systems.

Unit	Symbol	Measurement System	Description
calories (thermochemical)	cal	International System of Units (SI)	1 cal = 4.184 J
kilocalories	kcal	International System of Units (SI)	1,000 cal = 1 kcal
British Thermal Unit	BTU or Btu	Imperial System	1 BTU = 1,055 J
joules	J	International System of Units (SI)	base unit
kilojoules	kJ	International System of Units (SI)	1,000 J = 1 kJ
megajoules	MJ	International System of Units (SI)	1,000,000 J = 1 MJ
gigajoules	GJ	International System of Units (SI)	1,000,000,000 J = 1 GJ
terajoules	TJ	International System of Units (SI)	1,000,000,000,000 J = 1 TJ

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