how many feet are in a linear foot?

Answer 1

One. The word "linear" is just to emphasize that you're talking about length.

Say you go to the hardware store to buy some wood. They sell various lengths with a 6 inch width.

If you ask for 8 linear feet, they'll come back with a 6 inch by 8 foot plank.

If you ask for 8 *square* feet instead, you're asking for a certain area of wood, equal to 1 foot by 8 feet. Since the wood comes in a 6 inch width, they'll figure that you want 6 inches by 16 feet, because a rectangle of that size has an area of 8 sq. ft. They might also bring you two 8 foot planks.

If you ask for 8 *cubic* feet, you're asking for a particular volume of wood (equal to 1 foot by 1 foot by 8 feet). If the wood is 1 inch thick, you'll need twelve planks on top of each other to make a pile 1 foot tall; since the wood is 6 inches wide, you'll need two stacks of twelve next to each other to be 1 foot wide. They might bring you 24 planks of wood, 1"x6"x8'.

Answer 2

just one. a linear foot is just a plain old 12 inches along a line.

Answer 3

One foot

Answer 4

one