Customary Units

In the United States, people use customary units to measure things. Inches and feet measure length. Pounds and ounces measure weight. Cups and gallons measure liquids. These units are used every day.

Length and Distance

The main units for length are inches, feet, yards, and miles. There are 12 inches in a foot. There are 3 feet in a yard. There are 5,280 feet in a mile.

You might measure your height in feet and inches. A room might be measured in feet. The distance between cities is measured in miles.

Weight and Liquid

Weight is measured in ounces, pounds, and tons. There are 16 ounces in a pound and 2,000 pounds in a ton. A slice of bread weighs about 1 ounce.

Liquids are measured in cups, pints, quarts, and gallons. There are 8 cups in a half gallon. A bathtub holds about 50 gallons of water.

Fun Facts

• The foot was originally based on the length of a human foot.
• A football field is 100 yards long, which is 300 feet.
• The word mile comes from the Latin word for one thousand, because it was 1,000 paces for a Roman soldier.

Did You Know?

An inch was once defined as the width of a man's thumb. Now it has an exact measurement: 2.54 centimeters!