Humans and other animals body parts vary widely in size and shape. Why cant we use an angul finger or mutthi fist as standard unit of measurement of length.
Measurement Of Length Standard Units And Instruments
Why body parts cannot be used as standard unit of measurement. In body based units of measurement at interesting thing of the day i listed a few such historical units of measure which can still come in handy for rough approximations if you dont have a ruler or tape. A cubit is length of the forearm from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow about 18 in a digit is the width of a finger 34 in and a fathom is the arm span from fingertip to fingertip 6 ft. Say we are using hands as a measure. Imperial units units of measurement of the british imperial system the official system of weights and measures used in great britain from 1824 until the adoption of the metric system in 1965. One individuals hand will. Thus if we were to use body parts as a standard of measurement the idea of standard measurement wouldnt exist.
Here are a few more. 10 responses to body parts as tools of measurement chris on january 21 2009 136 am. It probably goes without saying that the unit foot was based on the length of a mans foot. Imperial units are now legally defined in metric terms. Before we had precise standardized units of measure such as meters and feet lengths and even ocasionally volumes were reckoned based on the average dimensions of human body parts. Non standard units of measurement.
Devin johnston on january 21 2009 259 am. What an interesting post. A pace of footstep cannot be used as a standard unit of length because everybodys body parts are different in size and this causes confusion in the measurement of an object that is why we need some common set of units to measure thingsthese common set of units are internatinal system of units si units. Grains of corn liters of water for distances span arm length 50 sheets of paper for volume. Stretch out your hand so that the tip of your thumb is as far away as possible from the tip of your pinky. Related to the last point the french word for inch is pouce which also.
The cubit was just one of numerous units of measurement based on the typical size of body parts. Teach them some of these older units of measurement. Standard units of measurements scientists all over the world have accepted a standard unit of measurement known as international system of units or si units. Teach children that people used to use everyday things to help them measure like their body parts. Glass of water spoonfuls teaspoonful drops for area. Another measurement that i use is an inch made by bending my ring finger into a tabletop shape.
Customary system of weights and measures is derived from it. Pendulum swing pulse rate for weights. One meter has 100 divisions known as.
Gallery of Why Body Parts Cannot Be Used As Standard Unit Of Measurement
