Measure
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
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- For Measure in music notation see bar (music)
To measure something is to give a number to some property of the thing. Measuring something puts the amount of the thing into numbers.
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[change] What can be Measured?
Many things can be measured. Some properties of things that can be measured:
- Distance: For example, distance measurements can be used to answer the following questions;
- Weight: For example, weight measurements can be used to answer the following questions;
- Temperature: For example, temperature measurements can be used to answer the following questions;
- Volume: For example, volume measurements can be used to answer the following questions;
- Pressure: For example, pressure measurements can be used to answer the following questions;
- How much air should I put in this automobile tire?
- Will the weather stay good or will we have a storm?
- Will my ears pop when I climb that hill?
One can measure many other things.
[change] Units of Measurement
The numbers for the measured properties only mean something if the units of measurement are known. A unit of measurement is a carefully measured amount. The units of measurement let the properties of a thing being measured be compared to the properties of something else that is well known.
For example, John wants to measure the length of his board. Tom tells John that his board is 10 long. John does not know what a length of ten means without a unit of measurement. The board could be 10 feet long, or ten meters long, or ten inches long, or ten millimeters long, or ten cubits long, or something else. These are all different lengths, because the units of measurement are different. Just knowing the length number ten alone is not enough.
[change] Measure Theory
There is an advanced part of mathematics that is about measuring things with unusual characteristics. This is called measure theory.
