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Lesson 34: Reading a Thermometer and Ruler
Reading a thermometer or ruler is quite similar to reading a bar graph. This lesson shows you some examples, and discusses the basics.
Don't forget to watch the embedded video clip for this lesson at the bottom of the page. Please be sure to read the embedded video information and disclaimer.
Take
a look at the picture of a thermometer at right. First, notice
that this thermometer measures degrees in Celsius. This is the
system that most of the world uses, but in the United States,
we typically measure degrees in Fahrenheit. Later you'll learn
more about how to convert from one system to another.
On this thermometer, like on many, each line represents two degrees. We can tell this by doing basic division. There are four marks between separations of ten degrees, and that means five total steps. That means each step represents 10 ÷ 5 or 2 degrees.
Look at what this thermometer is showing. The mercury is halfway between the lines that represent 16 and 18 degrees, which means it is depicting 17 degrees.
Take
a look at this one inch segment of a ruler which uses English units
like we use the US. The long line halfway between the inch
marks denotes a half inch. As expected, the shorter line in
between the half inch and inch mark represents one-quarter inch.
That is further subdivided into the eighth inch, and the sixteenth
inch. Study the diagram until it is clear.
Reading a metric ruler is much easier by comparison. The primary unit of length is the meter, which is about a yard. The meter is broken down into 100 centimeters, which are marked on a metric ruler. Each centimeter is broken down into 10 millimeters each, denoted by very short lines that are closely spaced. Halfway between each centimeter is a longer line which helps you find the half centimeter.
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