Activity 1.3.

2 Standard and Metric Measuring

Introduction
Measurements are seen and used every day. You have probably worked with
measurements at home and at school. Measurements can be seen in the form of
inches, pounds, hours, cups, meters, grams, liters, etc. Standard or Customary units
are usually written with fractions or mixed fractions. Metric or SI (International
System of Units) values are written as decimals or mixed decimals.
When measuring length in the customary system, the common tools are rulers,
yardsticks, and tape measures; the common units are inches, feet, and yards. It is
important that you are able to convert between these. Make sure you show your
units.
1 foot (ft) = 12 inches (in.)
1 yard (yd) = 36 inches (in.) = 3 feet (ft)
1 mile (mi) = 5280 feet (ft)
The metric system is the most widely used system of measurement in the world. The
United States is the only major country that still has a limited use of this system of
measurement. Most U.S. businesses have converted to this system due to the fact
that they are competing in a global market that is based on the metric system. The
metric system is based on powers of ten. The chart below shows the units of the
metric system; meters are used to measure length.
Thousands

Hundred
s

Kilo

Hecto

Deca

UNIT

King

Henry

Died

0.001 km

0.01 hm

1 km

Abbreviatio
ns: Length

km

Mass

kg

Volume

kL

Prefix
Mnemonic
Equivalency
Equivalency

Tens

Basic unit

Tenths

Hundredth
s

Thousandths

Deci

Centi

Milli

Unexpectedly

Drinking

Chocolate

Milk

0.1 dam

1m

10 dm

100 cm

1000 mm

10 hm

100
dam

1000 m

10,000
dm

100,000 cm

1,000,000 mm

hm

dam

m (meter)

dm

cm

mm

g
(gram)
L
(liter)

mg
mL

So, for instance,

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1 meter = 10 dm = 100 centimeters = 1000 millimeters

1 kilometer = 10 hectometers = 1000 meters

Occasionally you may need to convert from English to Metric units or vice versa.
The conversion chart from the Gateway formula sheet is shown below.

Equipment

PLTW Gateway notebook

Measuring devices (ruler, metric ruler, yard stick, meter stick, tape measure)

Procedure
In this activity you will have a chance to practice your Metric and English measuring
skills.
1. Complete the English and Metric measurement questions in this activity.
2. Complete the Educated Guess columns of the chart.
3. Obtain several measuring devices from your instructor and complete the actual
measurement section of the chart.
4. Complete the conclusion questions and turn in to your instructor for grading.

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1. Does the ruler on the left

measure in Metric or
English units?Metric
units
2. What units would you
use?Centimeters or
millimeters
3. What is the distance
from the end of the ruler
to each point? Dont
forget to include units.
A. 4 mm
B. 19 mm
C. 37 mm
D. 63 mm
E. 73 mm
4. What is the equivalent of
measurement C in
inches? Show all work,
round answer to nearest
tenth. 1.5

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5. Does the ruler on the left

measure in Metric or
English units? English
units

6. What units would you

use? Inches and
centimeters

7. What is the distance

from the end of the ruler
to each point? Dont
forget to include units.
A. inch
B. inch
C. 1 inches
D. 2 3/16 inches
E. 2 inches
8. What is the equivalent of
measurement D in
millimeters? Show all
work, round answer to
nearest tenth. 55.9 mm
9. Complete the chart below by entering an educated guess of the length of each
object in the units provided. Then obtain the proper measuring tool: ruler, metric
ruler, yard stick, meter stick, or tape measure. Record the correct measurement
in the chart. Dont forget to include units.
Item

Notebook
Desk

Educated
Guess English

Educated
Guess - Metric
12in.

26cm

3.25ft

1m

Actual English
Measurement

Actual Metric
Measurement

11 in

28 cm

49

1.5 m

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Door

2.5yd

2m

6in.

150mm

Cabinet

55ft

2m

Window

24in.

61cm

1.5yd

1.33m

Pencil

Bulletin Board

2yds & 6.5

inches

2.03cm

5 in.

142 mm

61

1.85m

24 in.

61 cm

1.33 yd

1.18 m

Conclusion
1. Which measurement system is easier for you to use? Why? I like to use the
customary system because I like to use fractions instead of decimals. The metric
system is easier because everything is in easy numbers like 10 and 100, but I am
used to the customary or English system.
2. Convert the length of a 2 ft 6 in. desk to each of the following. Show your
equations and math.
a. __30__________ inches (in.)
b. __0.86_________ yards (yd)
c. __7.62__________ meters (m)
d. __76.2__________ centimeters (cm)

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3. Convert the length of a 4.5 meter bulletin board to each of the following. Show
your equations and math.
a. ___450_________ centimeters (cm)
b. ___45_________ decameters (dam)
c. ____14.78________ feet (ft)
d. ____4.920________ yards (yd)

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4. Convert 65 miles to kilometers. Show your work and math.

104 km. (65m/5) x 5 = 104

5. Convert 1500 meters to miles. Show your equations and math.

1500 m
---------1

1 mile
x

---------1609.34 m

1500/1609.34 = .93

6. Review your answers to Activity 1.3.1 History of Measurement. Convert each of

the following measurements to the indicated units. Show your work and math.
Example: Convert 19 palms to hands
Assume that you measured the width of your lab table as four hands and,
again, as 11 palms.
4 hands = 11 palms; therefore, the conversion factor is

4 hands
11 palms

4 hands
(19 palm)( 11
palm ) = 6.9 hands

a. Convert 4.5 strides to girth

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b. Convert 27 cubits to fathoms

7. List four ways that you have used measurement in your life and identify the units
that you used. For example, I drove 7 miles to get to school today English
units.
1- I make food and use cups. -- English units
2- I see how fast my parents are driving. -- English units
3- I get measured for tall boots in inches. -- English units
4- I measure my horse in hands. -- Neither

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