# What could I use as a quick way--by approximate physical memory--to estimate a gram, cgram, etc.?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 13, 2011, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576 "2011-10-13T21:21:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576/1 "2011-10-13T21:21:12Z")
As a proud American, I am deficient in metric thinking. For meters, I think of a football field minus 30 feet. For a liter, thanks to Coca-Cola, I think of a liter bottle. Note: this is more or less a distinct physical memory. It is akin to my distinct physical memory of cups, tablespoons, e.g., after long experience through cooking. But grams still stump me. Centigrams and milligrams I guess are of more intellectual interest. Thanks, Leo ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576/2 "2011-10-13T21:25:18Z")
When I was in grade school in the 1970s, and there was a big national movement for learning the metric system, I learned the mnemonic that a gram weighs about as much as a paper clip. Now that I go look at this online, there’s a lot of debate as to how accurate that is (and some discussion that a Bic pen cap might be a better mnemonic), but at least it gives a rough rule of thumb. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576/3 "2011-10-13T21:26:43Z")
You can imagine a volume of water of the desired weight, along the lines of the old English-units jingle “A pint’s a pound the world around”. (Assuming measurement at sea level, of course.) The corresponding one I know for metric units is “Wherever in the world I am, a cubic centimeter is a gram”. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576/4 "2011-10-13T21:26:57Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > For meters, I think of a football field minus 30 feet. 100 meters is 109.4 yards, or roughly a football field (goal line to goal line) plus one end zone. (Or, a Canadian football field, but that doesn’t help most Americans. 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576/5 "2011-10-13T21:28:45Z")
Oh, and a gram is also approximately half a LifeSaver candy. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576/6 "2011-10-13T21:29:21Z")
a U.S. dime is about 2 1/4 grams a U.S. quarter is about 5 1/2 grams ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576/7 "2011-10-13T21:31:28Z")
A penny weighs about two and a half grams. For everyday estimation purposes, 1 gram = 1 mL or 1 CC of water. 1 mL is about a fifth of a teaspoon. Of course, you don’t hold 1 gram of water in the palm of your hand… ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576/8 "2011-10-13T21:33:00Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > You can imagine a volume of water of the desired weight, along the lines of the old English-units jingle “A pint’s a pound the world around”. (Assuming measurement at sea level, of course.) > > The corresponding one I know for metric units is “Wherever in the world I am, a cubic centimeter is a gram”. Yeah, that’s… not helpful to Americans, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576/9 "2011-10-13T21:35:25Z")
For a meter, can’t you just go with “a little bit more than a yard” ? For a gram I always thought of it as about a paper clip’s mass. 100 grams is about a quarter pound… like a quarter pounder. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576/10 "2011-10-13T21:53:51Z")
A kilogram is a litre of Coca Cola ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576/11 "2011-10-13T21:58:42Z")
A nickel weighs 5 grams. People use them to calibrate their scales. A 2-liter bottle of pop is about 2 kilograms. A fifth of liquor is actually 750 ml, not 1/5 of a gallon, and the liquid inside weighs 750 grams. A meter is close enough to a yard that in news reports they are often substituted for eachother for the region the wire story is going out to. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576/12 "2011-10-13T22:08:22Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576/13 "2011-10-13T22:24:12Z")
Single grams are not too useful to remember (except that 1g water ~= 1ml = 1cc). How often do you need to measure a single gram? 1 teaspoon of table salt or water is roughly 5 grams. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576/14 "2011-10-13T22:34:07Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > For meters, I think of a football field minus 30 feet. You mean 100 meters. For one meter, I generally just picture a meter stick; about 10% longer than a yardstick. The average height of a man is somewhere around 1.7 meters. > [@](#): > > But grams still stump me. A gram is the weight of one cubic centimeter (i.e. 1x1x1cm cube, or 1 milliliter) of water. That’s 1/5 of a teaspoon. > [@](#): > > Centigrams and milligrams I guess are of more intellectual interest. I’ve never used centigrams, but that’s just 100 grams. The weight of 100ml of water, which is just under 1/2 cup. A milligram is 1/1000 of a gram, too small for humans to have a “feel” for. ---
**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576/15 "2011-10-13T22:39:21Z")
No, 1 centigram is 1/100 of a gram. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576/16 "2011-10-13T22:47:12Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > You mean 100 meters. For one meter, I generally just picture a meter stick; about 10% longer than a yardstick. The average height of a man is somewhere around 1.7 meters. I once read that a meter is a yard plus a piece of chalk. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576/17 "2011-10-13T22:47:37Z")
Not that I’m suggesting this as a practical solution, but… I had some brief experiences with certain psychoactive substances in my younger days, and while it didn’t do me much good overall, it did leave me with a useful mental image of a gram. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576/18 "2011-10-13T22:51:37Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > I’ve never used centigrams, but that’s just 100 grams. The weight of 100ml of water, which is just under 1/2 cup. A milligram is 1/1000 of a gram, too small for humans to have a “feel” for. 100 grams is a hectogram, rarely used term. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576/19 "2011-10-13T23:05:19Z")
The gram is not the SI base unit of mass, which is instead the kilogram. (No, this wrinkle in the system is not especially logical). As for “centi-”, the prefix is not actually used much apart from centimetres and, sometimes, centilitres. I think people in metric countries would scratch their heads if you started talking about “centigrams”. They use kilograms, grams, even milligrams (often used in medical/scientific contexts), but not centigrams. Likewise, “hecto-” is virtually unknown except for the unit of land area, the hectare. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576/20 "2011-10-13T23:19:40Z")
One thing I learned back in grammar school is that a Nickle weighs 5 grams – easy to remember, because it’s one gram per cent. A quick check of the Wikipedia page shows that this is still true – **nickle = 5.000 grams** You can’t get much better than that. > **[Nickel (United States coin)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_(U.S._coin))** > > A nickel is a five-cent coin struck by the United States Mint. Composed of cupronickel (75% copper and 25% nickel), the piece has been issued since 1866. Its diameter is 0.835 inches (21.21 mm) and its thickness is 0.077 inches (1.95 mm). > The silver half dime, equal to five cents, was issued from 1792 to 1873 before today's cupronickel version. The American Civil War caused economic hardship, driving gold and silver from circulation; in response, in place of low-value coins, the government a... [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-use-as-a-quick-way-by-approximate-physical-memory-to-estimate-a-gram-cgram-etc/599576.md?page=2)