Non standard units of measurement in early days body parts were used to measure length. By using the messy box to measure objects kids are learning that measurement is not just a numerical final measurement.
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Non standard units of measurement body parts. That distance is called a span which for most people is almost exactly half a cubit. Young scholars use non standard measurement tools such as body parts beans and counters to find the area of shapes drawn on the floor. This is a list of units of measure based on human body parts or the attributes or abilities of humans. In 1958 oliver r. This is a box filled with all sorts of non standard measuring tools. It does not include derived units further unless they are also themselves human based.
If we use our hand span to measure length the measurement taken by different person will vary as our hand spans are not equal. Smoot was rolled head over heels by his fraternity brothers to measure the length of the harvard bridge. Stretch out your hand so that the tip of your thumb is as far away as possible from the tip of your pinky. Non standard measurement units messy math box. But measurements taken by these means are not accurate and consistent. Non standard units to measure length.
To teach non standard measurement effectively you will need a messy measurement box. The cubit was just one of numerous units of measurement based on the typical size of body parts. Help kindergarten or first grade students learn the rules of non standard measurement with this simple video. They continue to determine the area of other objects in the classroom. Here are a few more. Of course the ultimate body part as measurement tool is the smoot as seen in google earth according to wikipedia the smoot is a nonstandard unit of length created as part of an mit fraternity prank.
How to measure length using body parts. Nonstandard units of measurement are units of measurement that arent typically used such as a pencil an arm a toothpick or a shoe. These units are thus considered to be human scale and anthropocentric. We can use just about anything as a nonstandard unit of. It probably goes without saying that the unit foot was based on the length of a mans foot.