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The Standardization of a System of Weights and Measures

Gaby De Jesus

Franciscan University of Steubenville

EDU 331
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Standardization is one of the most important concepts in the development of civilization

because it creates unity and connection between ideas and individuals. For instance, the

existence of a common language allows for communication with mutual understanding that

would not be possible if it were not for a uniform system of words and grammar. Similarly, a

standard system of measurement gives individuals and cultures the opportunity to trade, express,

and develop ideas with one another in an intellectual and practical manner. Although it has not

been an easy task, the development of a standard system of weights and measures has

revolutionized not only the technical fields of study, but also everyday life.

One of the first known cultures to develop and use a system of measurement was the

Egyptians around 3000 BC. For them, measurement was a matter of practicality as they used it to

do things such as build the pyramids, assign weights when bartering, and judge the dead by

weighing the heart of the deceased. To measure lengths, the principal unit of measurement used

by the Egyptians was the royal cubit which represents the length of a man’s forearm. This length

was also equated to seven palm widths or twenty-eight digits. In today’s standards, it measures

about 52.4 centimeters. For measuring the land, the Egyptians used a cord, called the ta, which

was the length of 100 royal cubits. Other than a cord, other tools of measurement, such as

ceremonial cubit rods, have been found in temples or other burial sites (Dunn, n.d.). The base

unit of measurement for weights was known as the Deben which is equivalent to 93.3 grams.

After the 12th dynasty of Egypt, a 9 to 10 gram unit called the kite was developed, and the Deben

was then changed to be equal to the value of 10 kites. The actual standard measuring weights

themselves were typically made of precious metals, and the weights of various other goods could

be measured by comparing them to these standard weights. Other than length and weight, the

Egyptians were also one of the first cultures to measure time. Because the livelihood of their
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civilization depended so heavily upon the rising and falling of the waters of the Nile River, being

able to keep time became extremely important. The tool they used to measure time was the

sundial which keeps time by tracking the movement of the sun across the sky. The sundial

typically consisted of a vertical wooden stick that casted a shadow onto the ground depending on

the sun’s position. It was not always accurate because the length of days differed with the

seasons; however, the sundial, in addition to their measures of length and weight, allowed the

Egyptian culture to flourish for the time that it did (Chambers, n.d.).

About two thousand years later in the 1st millennium BC, the Roman civilization emerged

with their own system of measurement. Although completely different from that of the

Egyptians, the Roman system resembles more closely those that are in use today. In Roman

culture, measures of length were based on the Roman standard foot called the pes. One pes is

equal to the length of 16 digits or 12 inches in today’s standards. Larger units of length, such as

the pace, stadium, and mile were expressed in feet, and each larger unit could be expressed by

each of the units smaller than it. For example, one pace is equal to 5 feet, one stadium is equal to

125 paces or 625 feet, and one mile is equal in measure to 8 stadiums or 5,000 feet. This Roman

mile was also seen as the distance a Roman legion could march in 1,000 paces. It is about 280

feet shorter than the modern mile (Roman Weights and Measures, 2017). Starting in 268 BC, a

new standard for all Roman weights was developed. In this standard, all weights were based on

the weight of one silver denarius which is equal to 4.57 grams. These base units were named

denarii. From the denarii, many larger units of weight were created such as the ounce which is

the same as 6 denarii and the pound which is equal to 12 ounces or 72 denarii. Similarly, the

Roman system for measuring liquids was based on a unit known as the sextarius. The sextarius is

approximately 35.4 cubic inches which is virtually one pint in more common measures.
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Divisions of the sextarius included a half-sextarius, or hemina, which measures 17.7 cubic inches

or 0.29 liters. Going even smaller, the one-fourth sextarius, or quartarus, is equal to 8.85 cubic

inches or .145 liters. Multiplications of the sextarius were the congius and the urna. The congius

is equal to six sextarii, 212.4 cubic inches, or 3.48 liters. Finally, the urna contains 24 sextarii,

849.6 cubic inches, or 13.92 liters (Chisholm & Zupko, 2017). Although imperfect, this Roman

system of weights and measures, with its start of standardization and development of smaller and

larger units of measurement derived from base units, propelled the complete standardization of a

system of measurement even further along.

In the late 1600s in the country of France, a man by the name of Gabriel Mouton had

similar ideas to those already beginning to be expressed in the Roman system of measurement.

Mouton thought it would be beneficial to use a decimal system of measurement based on the

length of one minute of arc of a great circle of the earth. Once news of his idea spread, other

scientists and committees got to work on developing such a system of weights and measures for

France. In 1790, the French Academy of Sciences created a system where lengths are portions of

the earth’s circumference and where volumes and masses are derived from length. Deriving

volume and mass from length was such a revolutionary idea because it not only related the

measures to each other, but it also related them to nature since lengths were based on the earth.

The base unit for length was called the meter, and it is from this meter that the standard unit for

volume and mass were developed. For example, the liter became the volume of one cubic

decimeter, and the gram became the mass of one cubic centimeter. This system became known

as the metric system because of the existence of the meter as its foundation. Furthermore, the

Academy created the system so that smaller or larger measures could be found simply by

multiplying or dividing the unit measure by 10. Doing so made calculations and conversions
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relatively simple and easy. In April of 1795, the metric system was adopted by the French

government, and by 1900, thirty-five countries declared the metric system as their official system

of measurement (Origin of the Metric System, 2017).

One of the countries that has yet to adopt the metric system as its official system of

measurement is the United States; however, the desire for a standardized system of measurement

in the country has not been absent. John Quincy Adams, who lived in the late 1700s, was a big

supporter and advocate of the metric system, but he recognized the difficulty that would come in

attempting to adopt the system for the entire country. As a result, the American system of

measurement in use today still mostly resembles the English system of measurement. While

some units of measure are exactly as the British, like Queen Anne’s gallon which measures 231

cubic inches, others are completely different. For measures of length, the base unit used in

America today is the foot which is equal to 12 inches. Larger than that, the yard is 3 feet, the

furlong is 660 feet, and the mile is 5,280 feet in length. The base unit in measures of weight is

the ounce which is equivalent to 16 drams. One pound is made up of 16 of these ounces, and one

ton consists of 2,000 pounds. Lastly, larger units for the measurement of liquid are all based on

the fluid ounce which is the same as 8 fluid drams. One gill contains four fluid ounces, one pint

is made up of four gills, one quart is the same as two pints, and four quarts makes one gallon. As

more and more states entered the union, the desire for a standardized system of weights and

measures only increased. As a result, the National Bureau of Standards sponsored a national

conference on weights and measures at the beginning of the 20th century. The goal of this

conference was to create unity among the states with regards to the standards. Despite these

efforts, the United States never declared that one system of measurement was to be used
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(Chisholm & Zupko, 2017). Today, the United States uses a mix of the metric system and the

inch-pound system developed from the British system (Origin of the Metric System, 2017).

The application of such historical information on the development of measurement lends

itself naturally to the mathematics classroom. Firstly, a supplemental lesson on all the different

systems of weights and measures in existence would help students understand and practice the

skill of conversion. The lesson could scaffold students’ work with the skill by first having them

convert between units in one particular system, and then this could be built upon by having

students convert between units across systems based on a unit equivalence already known. Being

able to convert between units is essential for the success of students in the classroom and beyond

because almost all applied math problems work with units and require that answers be expressed

in certain units. Secondly, teaching students about each of the four measurement systems

mentioned above could help students analyze and compare the systems to each other in order to

make a conclusion about which is most practical and easy to use. Students would be required to

perform calculations using each of the systems. The goal of having students do this would be for

them to realize the practicality of using a decimalized system of measurement over a system like

that of the Egyptians or the Romans.

The development of a standardized system of weights and measures has changed the

world in such a positive way by bringing uniformity and allowing for connections. However, it is

not without a lot of effort and time that it has gotten to where it is today. From the Egyptians to

the Romans and the French to the American, it is the need for and work of so many different

cultures that has led to the measurement systems currently in use, and it is because of its

standardization that these different cultures can be united in work and trade regardless of the

language they speak.

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References

Chambers, T. (n.d.). The History of Measurements. Retrieved December 2, 2017, from

https://www.mtiinstruments.com/knowledge-center/history-of-measurements.

Chisholm, L. J. & Zupko, R. (2011, October 27). Measurement system. Retrieved November 29,

2017, from https://www.britannica.com/science/measurement-system.

Dunn, J. (n.d.). The Weights and Measures of Ancient Egypt. Retrieved

November 29, 2017, from http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/measures.htm.

Origin of the Metric System. (2017). Retrieved December 1, 2017,

from http://www.us-metric.org/origin-of-the-metric-system/.

Roman Weights and Measures. (2017). Retrieved November 29, 2017 from

http://www.tribunesandtriumphs.org/roman-life/roman-weights-and-measures.htm.