• Measurement is the process of assigning numbers to quantities. It involves a quantity and a unit.

Measurement

You are making a measurement when you

Check you weight

Read your watch

Take your temperature

Weigh a watermelon

What kind of measurements did you make today?

Measurement Basics

• Length: is the distance of something measured

• Volume/Capacity: how much something can hold ( generally liquid); how much space something takes up

• Mass: amount of matter in an object

US/Customary System/English System

• The US/Customary system has many different units of measurement

• Each unit has a completely different name• They also have completely different

conversion factors

Metric System

• The metric system has base unit and many different prefixes

Metric Units of Measurement

• Meters: Measures length• Liters: Measures volume or capacity• Grams: measures mass

Units of Measurement:Volume

• US System– Cups– Pints– Quarts– Gallons– Fluid Ounces

• Metric System– Liters

Units of Measurement:Length

• US System– Inches– Feet– Yards– Miles

• Metric– Meters

Units of Measurement:Weight/Mass

• US System– Ounce– Pound– Tons

• Metric– Gram

Metric System Prefixes

• Mili- 1/1000, which means that 1000mm=1m• Centi- 1/100, which means that 100cg=1g• Deci- 1/10, which means that 10dl=1l• Deka- 10, which means that 1dkm=10m• Hecto- 100, which means that 1hg=100g• Kilo- 1000, which means that 1kl=1000l

US Conversions

• Length– 1 foot = 12 inches– 1 yard = 3 feet– 1 mile = 5,280 feet

US Conversions

• Volume– 1 cup = 8 fl oz– 1 pint = 2 cups– 1 quart = 2 pints– 1 gallon = 4 quarts

US Conversions

• Weight– 1 lb = 16 oz– 1 ton = 2000 lbs

Measuring Distance in English

Using a measuring tool called a ruler

Where did it come from?

Why 12 inches?

The King’s Foot

One Foot

The King’s Foot

One FootToo big for some things...

...So they used the length of the King’s first knuckle

One Inch

Why 12 inches not 10 or 13?

Simply because it took 12 lengths of his first knuckle to equal his foot.

...So they used the length of the King’s first knuckle

One InchBut that was too big for some other things...

...That’s exactly how they made the fractions between

the inches.

1/2 1/4

...So they cut the inches into fractions

1/2 1/4 1/8 and 1/16

You should have noticed that as the fractions got

smaller, so did the length of the lines between the

whole numbers. That helps to identify a half from the fourths and so

on.

If you don’t remember what the fraction is just

by looking at the, you can always count the number

of lines between the whole numbers. If there are 16, then your ruler is divided into sixteenths.

..then you can do the math to determine the fraction.

If you counted 10 lines from the whole number, that would be 10 sixteenths. Here’s where that “magic number 2” comes in.

To get the fraction to it’s lowest possible denominator DIVIDE both numbers in the fraction by 2 and keep doing it until the top number is odd.

10 = 5 Top number’s odd so 10/16 = 5/816 8

If the fraction comes between two whole numbers like 1 and 2, then the measurement is the first whole number and the fraction in this case it would be 1 and 5/8ths

Name this measurement

A. 1/2B. 1/3C. 1/4D. 5/16

Name this measurement

A. 3/4B. 3/8C. 1-3/4D. 2-3/4

The Metric ruler is much different. Everything is

based on 10

10mm (millimeters) = 1cm (centimeter)100cm= 1m (meter)1m = 100cm    (cm = centimeter, cent means 100)1m = 1000mm  (mm = millimeter, mil means 1000)

The Metric Ruler

Here’s a meter stick!

It takes 10 decimeters to make up 1 meter.

It takes 10 centimeters to make up 1 decimeter.

If 1 meter = 10 decimetersand

1 decimeter = 10 centimetersthen how many centimeters make

up 1 meter?

That’s right!1 meter = 100 centimeters

100centimeters = 1 meter

It takes 10 millimeters to make up 1 centimeter.

If 1 meter = 10 decimetersand

1 decimeter = 10 centimetersand

1centimeter = 10 millimeters

then how many millimeters make up 1 meter?

That’s right!1000 millimeters = 1 meter

It takes 10 millimeters to make up 1 centimeter.

Millimeters are so small that they almost run together.

Now let’s take a closer look at some

measuring devices.

This is a magnified image of a ruler/meter stick.

1

This is one centimeter.

2 3 4

This is a magnified image of a ruler/meter stick.

1

This is half of a centimeter.

2 3 4

This is a magnified image of a ruler/meter stick.

1

This is one millimeter.

2 3 4

1 2 3 4

This key measures 3 cm.

1 2 3 4

Or you could say that it measures 30 mm.

1 2 3 4

This key measures 2.5 cm.

1 2 3 4

Or, you could say that it measures 25 mm.

1 2 3 4

This toy car measures 4.2 cm.

1 2 3 4

Or, you could say it measures 42 mm.

The metric system deals with powers of 10

1 meter = 10 decimeters =

100 centimeters = 1000

millimeters