If you counted in 1/4 inches on a ruler, you'd see that the fourth line after 0 inches equals 1/4 inch, the eighth line equals 2/4 (1/2) inch, and the 12th line equals 3/4 inch. Got questions about decimals and fractions?Our expert guides will teach you how to convert decimals to fractions and how to add and subtract fractions. Launched in 2004 to provide a user-friendly alternative for Irlen Syndrome sufferers who resist using the more intrusive large overlays, these reading rulers combine the following features: - Like the inches ruler, you’ll see tons of lines on a metric ruler, with some longer and some shorter. Each line represents 1 millimeter, which is equal to 1/10 or 0.1 cm (so 10 mm make up 1 cm). The longest line represents the biggest unit on the ruler: 1 cm. Each centimeter is labeled on the ruler (1-30).

Rulers are an essential tool to have, but if you’re struggling with how to read a ruler, you're not alone. There are so many lines on a ruler, it can get confusing to figure out what they all mean. Example: If you were to measure the width (instead of length) of a piece of computer paper, the piece should come up exactly to the 1/2 inch line between 8 and 9 inches, indicating that the width is 8 1/2 (8.5) inches. Example: Say you're measuring the width of your smartphone, and it comes up to the fifth line after 4 cm on your ruler. This would mean that the phone is 4.5 cm (45 mm) wide.Let’s start by looking at how to read a ruler in inches. If you’re American, this is the measurement you probably know better than centimeters, which are sometimes included on your standard 12-inch, or 1-foot, ruler (we’ll go over how to read a ruler in cm in the next section).

This is especially important to know if you’re studying science (recall that science generally uses the metric system —not the imperial system). Knowing how to read a ruler in cm is also helpful for people who'd prefer to not work with fractions (which you must do with inches) and who'd like to work with other units instead (in this case, millimeters). The inch is the biggest unit on a ruler and is represented by the longest line. Each 1-inch line is labeled with a number indicating what inch it is on the ruler (as the image above shows). Example: You’re trying to measure the length of your pointer finger. The ruler comes to the seventh line past 3 inches. This would mean that your finger is 3 7/16 inches long. The 1/2-inch line is located midway between every inch on a ruler. The midpoint between 7 and 8 inches, for instance, would be 7 1/2 (or 7.5) inches. If you want any extra assistance with learning how to read a ruler in cm or inches, videos and worksheets can be excellent resources.You’re measuring a pair of glasses, from the end of one lens to the far end of the other lens. Your ruler reaches the seventh line past 12 cm. How long is the pair of glasses?

Example: Say you’re measuring a piece of cloth and the ruler ends at the fourth line after the 10-inch mark. This would mean that the cloth is 10 1/4 (10.25) inches long. The Eye Level Reading Ruler is a coloured overlay filter and text highlighter about the size of an eight-inch ruler. It is discreet and professional-looking and can be kept in a book as a bookmark for easy storage. This Dyslexia Friendly resource helps relieve the symptoms of Visual Stress.

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There will always be 10 lines from one centimeter to the next centimeter. In total, there are three different lengths of lines on a metric ruler.

Part of the Visual Stress Collection: a previous winning product of the Education Resources Awards SEN Resource of the Year. The truth is that there are tons of moments in life when you’ll need to know how to read a ruler. And if you don’t know how to read a ruler, then you’ll likely suffer some consequences. For instance, what if you make two pieces of something that don’t fit together because one is shorter or longer than it was supposed to be? Or what if you mess up a science experiment because you didn’t accurately read the measurement of a piece of string you cut? There are two types of rulers you can use: the inch, or imperial, ruler and the centimeter, or metric, ruler. For example, if you wanted to make something out of construction paper, you'd likely need to use a ruler to measure out how much of the material you would need. Or what if you wanted to frame a photo you have? In this case, you might have to measure the picture to see what kind of frame it would fit in. The smallest unit a metric ruler can measure is 1 mm, or 0.1 cm. These are the smallest lines on the ruler, that is, the ones that come between the whole centimeter and 1/2 centimeters:

How to Read a Ruler in Centimeters

While we will be providing pictures you can use to follow our instructions, we recommend getting out your own ruler or measuring tape so you can follow along in real time. Example: If you were to measure the length of a sheet of computer paper, the piece of paper would come up to the 11-inch mark on your ruler, indicating that it's exactly 11 inches long.