Early Measurement History
Do you know what
the following mean?
Do You Know the Following?
1. The “CUBIT”…
2. The “Fathom”…
3. The “Hand/span”…
4. The “Pace”…
5. The “Girth”…
6. The “Palm…
The Cubit
• Was the measurement
used by the Egyptians
to build the pyramids.
 The cubit was defined
as the measurement
from your elbow to the
tip of your middle
finger when your arm
is extended.
The Fathom
• Used by seaman. For
the most part it was
used to measure the
depth of water so that
boats would not run
aground and people
would be stranded.
 The fathom is the
measure from fingertip
to fingertip when your
arms are stretched
sideways as far as they
will go. You
sometimes see a rope
and thread measured
this way…
The “hand/span”
• Was used to measure
the height of horses.
You still hear of
people saying about
horses being so many
hands high.
 The hand/span is the
measure from the tip
of your pinky to the
tip of your thumb
when your hand is
stretched out.
The “Pace”
• This term was used by
the Roman army to
judge speed. The term
is still used quite
frequently during
various types of foot
races.
 The pace is the
distance from one step
to another. Just like
walking or running the
distance from one step
to another.
The “Girth”
• One use for this type
of measurement was
in measuring fishing
line…
 The girth was the
measurement around
ones stomach (your belt
measure)
The “Palm”
 The palm was the
width found by
placing your 4 fingers
together.
Some folks found measuring
in this fashion to be quite
challenging.
The “Cubit”
Who said 3 heads are
better than one. For
these ladies it proved
to be a team event.
 Can anyone see
anything wrong with
this technique???
The “Fathom”
 Not a bad way to do
this exercise. I hope
that their arm lengths
were the same
length???
• Good Teamwork!
The Hand/Span
• Working as a team
these two girls kept
track of their research
in case one forgot
what number they
were on.
 Good planning!!!
The “Pace”
• Now this was a
BLAST to see how
some people
interpreted this
function.
“Mr. Obvious”
 Pay attention to the
following examples…
Hey how tall am I?
• He said how many
paces tall I was not
how many … feet.
Pacing can be a PANE
of glass that is
• Ok … when I’m done
helping you … you
help me … OK!!!
Pacing the Door
• His calculations may
be off a little, but I bet
he got an “A” in
Phys.Ed.
Had enough? Oops … Palming
• Life can be frustrating.
• To be successful you
have to step back and
look at your choices…
and then choose your
options.
Table Palming
• Well at least this part
of the exercise was
clean and easy.
This room is how many Palms?
Down … and …Dirty
A “Hands-On” Activity
• Ok … you start on that
end and I’ll start on
this end and we’ll
meet in the middle.
• Oops! … I forgot
where I was … guess I
gotta start over.
Ever wonder how an engineer
would do it?
1. They would count the tiles and/or blocks and use
them as a reference.
2. They could use these items to calculate how
many would make one of each unit.
3. Then they would multiple their results.
4. LASTLY, They would be the cleanest people
doing the activity because they used their
BRAINS and not their brawn!!! That’s why
they make the big $$$$$
Well … how did you do?
• Would you like to work smarter and not
harder?
• Would you like a career where you can stay
clean and make mucho bucks?
• Are you mathematical, or scientific, or like
to draw, or make stuff or wonder how the
World works?
• Well if you do…This is the course for you.