When you measure something with a metre stick, you can compare that measurement to anything else that is also measured with a metre stick. A metre stick is an example of a standard. Standards are usually special objects used to make measurements. 300 of what? The unit of measurement is the metre. The property of the Eiffel Tower being measured is a distance. That is, the distance from the top to the bottom of the Eiffel Tower is 300 metres. By that number it represents a measurement of something.įor example, The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France is 300 metres (980 feet) tall. The number only has sense when the unit of measurement is also given. The property of the thing being measured is given as a number of units of measure. The second is the basis for time measurement, and it is based on the sexagesimal system: 60 seconds make one minute, and 60 minutes make one hour. The common, non-metric measurement of time does not follow this pattern. This system uses the metre for length and kilogram for mass. For instance, there are 100 centimetres in one metre or 1000 grams in one kilogram. The newest and most used of the three systems is the metric system or SI system which use 10, 100 or 1000 of a smaller unit to make a bigger one. The number of smaller units that make the bigger units in these two systems varies: For example, there are 12 inches in a foot and 16 ounces in a pound. The older two, the British imperial system and the closely related US customary system use the foot as a measure of length, the pound as a measure for weight, and the second as a measure for time.

Today, most units of measure fall into one of three systems: In the past, different units were used in different countries. Now scientists define the meter by using the speed of light. During that time, saying that something had a length of two meters meant that it was exactly twice as long as the rod used to define the meter.

Before 1982, one meter was defined as the distance between two markers on a special metal rod. We can measure how big things are, how warm they are, how heavy they are, and many other features.įor example, the metre is a standard unit to measure length. Measurement is a process that uses numbers to describe a physical quantity. Units of measurement give standards so that the numbers from our measurements refer to the same thing. Beer mugs, at Oktoberfest: They hold one litre of beer

2.37 inches on a measurement tape