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Choose pounds or ounces to measure weight

Sal discusses US customary units of mass or weight such as ounce, pound, and ton. Created by Sal Khan.

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Video transcript

Identify the most reasonable units to measure the weight of the choices below. So we have an average adult, a slice of bread, a kitchen table, or a pack of gum. So I am an average adult, and I know that I weigh about 160 pounds. So I know that pounds are a pretty good measurement for about something the weight of an adult. So I'll put adults in that category right over there. Now we have a single slice of bread. So even a full loaf of bread doesn't weigh a lot. Maybe that gets close to a pound, but a slice of bread is going to be less than a pound. So I would do this in ounces. A kitchen table. Well, a kitchen table kind of weighs the same-- it could, if it's a very large kitchen table, could weigh the same or more than an adult. So I would do this in pounds. And then a pack of gum. So once again, a pack of gum is fairly light. If you've ever been to the gym and held even a 1-pound or 2-pound weight, it weighs more than a pack of gum. So a pack of gum is going to be less than a pound, so ounces seem to make sense here.