AGES
20
Topic: History of Measurement
Humans have been attempting to measure the world around them since the beginning of time. Imagine
what life must have been like with no universal measures for weight, distance, or volume. Small villages
and groups of people would create a standard unit of measurement only to find the next village or group
of people had a different standard of unit of measurement.
Units of measurement have been created around the world by many different cultures over the ages.
The English units of measure have become customary in our culture while the metric system has become
accepted worldwide.
Step 1:
Read the article “A Brief History of Measurement Systems” found in the folder with this lesson. Then
read the article on this website
http://www.cftech.com/BrainBank/OTHERREFERENCE/WEIGHTSandMEASURES/MetricHistory.html
Answer the following questions:
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How did ancient civilizations measure things?
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Explain the English system.
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Explain the metric system. How and why was it invented?
Step 2: The Vitruvian Man
Artist Leonardo Da Vinci created the Vitruvian Man in the year 1492. This now-famous
diagram was inspired by the Roman architect and engineer, Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (ca 75 25 BC). In his famous book De Architectura, Vitruvius proposed a concept that architecture
should imitate nature in the construction of housing by using natural materials which were
beautiful, durable and useful. He asserted that the invention of the Greek classical
architectural orders, Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian, were developed to give the architecture
of man a sense of proportion. Then, he further correlated this concept of proportion to the
proportions of the human body, nature’s greatest work. Taking his inspiration from the
writings of Vitruvius, Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man illustrates Leonardo’s interest in human
proportion.
The drawing shows a square inscribed inside a circle. There is a man with outstretched arms and legs, in
fact two pairs of each, which touch both the circumference of the circle and the vertices of the square.
Upon viewing the drawing the conclusion can be made that the length of a man's arm span is equal to
the height of the man. In other words the ratio of the Vitruvian Man's arm span to his height equals 1.
Leonardo Da Vinci also noted other proportions made on Vitruvius’ study of human proportions. He
believed that these proportions were true for each and every human body.
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the length of a person’s outspread arms (arm span) is equal to their height
a palm is the width of four fingers
the distance from the elbow to the tip of the hand is one quarter of a person’s height
the length of the hand is one tenth of a person’s height
a foot is the width of four palms
a cubit is the width of six palms
a pace is four cubits
a person’s height is four cubits, or 24 palms
DURATION: 4 PERIODS
AGES
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the
the
the
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distance from the hairline to the bottom of the chin is one tenth of a person’s height
distance from the top of the head to the bottom of the chin is one-eighth of a person’s height
distance from the bottom of the neck to the hairline is one sixth of a person’s height
maximum width of the shoulders is one quarter of a person’s height
distance from the middle of the chest to the top of the head is one quarter of a person’s height
distance from the elbow to the armpit is one eighth of a person’s height
distance from the bottom of the chin to the nose is one third of the length of the head
distance from the hairline to the eyebrows is one third of the length of the face
length of the ear is one third of the length of the face
length of a person’s foot is one sixth of his height
length of inner elbow to the bend of the wrist is equal to the length of the foot
Step 3: Is DaVinci’s Theory Correct?
1. You will test this theory. First, you will measure yourself. Ask a friend
to help you and see if your proportions are equal. Measure your
height. Then have your friend measure your arm span. Record your
findings on the table at the end of this lesson.
2. Now, ask your peers if they would like to volunteer. Measure their
height and arm span. Record your results. You should measure at
least ten people that are different in size. Calculate their measurements.
3. Choose two other proportions that DaVinci proposed. Test and see if Leonardo DaVinci was
correct with these proportions. Record your findings on the table at the end of this lesson.
Step 4: Analyze Your Findings
Write a one page essay that analyzes your results.
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Is there a
Is there a
Is there a
Any other
difference in the results between male and female?
difference in the results between taller and shorter people?
difference in the results between athletic and non-athletic people?
reasons why there may be differences?
Closure:
Share your findings with a fellow classmate. Give the project to me.
DURATION: 4 PERIODS
AGES
Name
20
Height
Arm Span
Ratio of Arm
Span to Height
Proportional
or Not?
Me
Name
Height
Measurement of
_______________
Ratio of
_____________ to
height is
__________
Proportional or
not?
Name
Height
Measurement of
_______________
Ratio of
_____________ to
height is
__________
Proportional or
not?
DURATION: 4 PERIODS