Learn
Measurements
Most of you can read a ruler. At least you know that one side has inches and the other has centimeters. You can also probably measure to the nearest half-inch.
In this lesson, we will be taking a closer look at the marks on the inches side. Notice that the marks vary in length. The longest marks are for inches and the next to longest ones mark ½ inches. The longer the line, the bigger the measurement is.
What do the lines just short of the ½ inch lines mark?
Answer: ¼ inch
As the lines get shorter, the measurement gets smaller. It actually is half of the previous measurement.
The measurement of the lines in order of their length is:
- 1 inch
- ½ inch
- ¼ inch
- ⅛ inch
- 1⁄16 inch
Actually, all of the lines are 1⁄16 of an inch apart.
Let's look at each measurement.
1 Inch
Half Inch
Fourth Inch
Eighth Inch
Sixteenth Inch
Now, let's put it all together. This may be easier to understand if we look at it as counting by 16ths. Notice on the labeled ruler below that the bottom fraction is the top one reduced.
See larger version of labeled ruler here.
Measuring Examples
Open Measure Lengths to the Nearest Fraction of an Inch in a new tab
Accuracy of Measurements
Accuracy refers to how close a measurement is to the actual measurement. You will probably never need to be more accurate than 1/16 of an inch for anything that you will be measuring around your house.
There are jobs, such as a machinist, where your accuracy will need to be within hundredths of an inch. There is much more sophisticated machinery than a simple wooden ruler to help you with those measurements though!