Reading a Tape Measure to the Nearest Sixteenth

0:00How long is this pencil, to the nearest sixteenth of an inch?

0:05This imperial tape measure is marked in inches. The tip is between 3 and 4, so let's zoom in on that inch.

0:13Between the inch marks, the longest mark is in the middle: it marks one half inch.

0:20The next longest marks show quarters: one quarter and three quarters.

0:26Shorter marks show eighths: 1, 3, 5 and 7 eighths.

0:32The shortest marks make 16 equal spaces: each is one sixteenth of an inch, about 1.6 millimetres.

0:41Count the spaces from the 3 inch mark to the tip: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

0:52So the pencil is 3 and 10 sixteenths inches long.

0:57To simplify, divide the top and the bottom by 2: 10 sixteenths is 5 eighths.

1:04Check: the tip is on the 5 eighths mark, so the pencil is 3 and 5 eighths inches.

1:11A common mistake is to count only the longer marks: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and call it 5 sixteenths.

1:21Those steps skip the shortest marks, so each is an eighth: 5 steps make 5 eighths.

1:28A new pencil ends between 7 and 8 inches, one space past the 5 eighths mark.

1:355 eighths is 10 sixteenths, and 10 sixteenths plus 1 sixteenth is 11 sixteenths.

1:4311 is odd, so 11 sixteenths does not simplify. This pencil is 7 and 11 sixteenths inches long.

1:52Count the sixteenths past the last whole inch, then simplify if you can.