Measurement

Pronunciation: /ˈmɛʒ.ər.mənt/ Explain

Measurement is assigning a number to a location based upon a unit of measure. For example, if one is using the metric system of distance, the unit of measure is 1 meter. A measure of 2 meters is twice as long as a measure of 1 meter. A measure of 0.5 meters is half as long as a measure of 1 meter.

Common measurements include distance, time, mass, energy, force and angle.

A metric space is a geometric space with a method of measurement assigned to the space.

Measurement error is an important consideration. When measuring with any device, one is approximating the measure. For example, if the length of a piece of paper is measured with a metric ruler, typically the measurement is accurate to only 1 millimeter. Since the measurement is not mathematically exact, it introduces an error.

References

1. McAdams, David E.. All Math Words Dictionary, measurement. 2nd Classroom edition 20150108-4799968. pg 115. Life is a Story Problem LLC. January 8, 2015. Buy the book

More Information

• McAdams, David E.. Unit of Measure. allmathwords.org. All Math Words Encyclopedia. Life is a Story Problem LLC. 3/12/2009. https://www.allmathwords.org/en/u/unit.html.
• McAdams, David E.. Measurement Error. allmathwords.org. All Math Words Encyclopedia. Life is a Story Problem LLC. 9/3/2018. https://www.allmathwords.org/en/m/measurementerror.html.

Educator Resources

• Parallax (measurement error). NASA Connect. 2/18/2010. http://www.archive.org/details/NasaConnect-Vt-Parallax/index.htm.
• Crash - Graphs and NASA Langley. NASA Connect. 2/18/2010. http://www.archive.org/details/NasaConnect-Crash-GraphsAndNasaLangley/index.htm.
• Estimate and Measure. NASA Connect. 2/18/2010. http://www.archive.org/details/NasaConnect-Bhfste-EstimateAndMeasure/index.htm.
• Proportionality - Modeling the Future. NASA Connect. 2/18/2010. http://www.archive.org/details/NasaConnect-Proportionality-ModelingTheFuture/index.htm.
• Serving Size Activity. NASA Connect. 2/18/2010. http://www.archive.org/details/NasaConnect-Bhfste-ServingSizeActivity/index.htm.

Cite this article as:

McAdams, David E. Measurement. 12/21/2018. All Math Words Encyclopedia. Life is a Story Problem LLC. https://www.allmathwords.org/en/m/measurement.html.

Revision History

12/21/2018: Reviewed and corrected IPA pronunication. (McAdams, David E.)
9/3/2018: Removed broken links, updated license, implemented new markup. (McAdams, David E.)
8/7/2018: Changed vocabulary links to WORDLINK format. (McAdams, David E.)
12/18/2009: Added "References". (McAdams, David E.)
9/17/2008: Initial version. (McAdams, David E.)