How many pounds in a stone? Try our weights and measures quiz

Weights and measures are back in the headlines, with the UK government touting a return to imperial measurements as part of the platinum jubilee celebrations. People in Britain will be able to buy a pint of beer and declare they are 5ft 8in tall and weigh just under 10 stone. But how well do you know your weights and measures? Take our fun quiz – which is based on the legal definitions set out in the UK’s 1985 Weights and Measures Act – and find out.

The Guardian’s weights and measures quiz

• If you think there has been an egregious error in one of the questions or answers, please feel free to email martin.belam@theguardian.com. But remember, the quizmaster’s word is always final, and all definitions in this quiz are based on the UK’s 1985 Weights and Measures Act.

1. We start off easy. How many inches in a foot?

   1. 9

   2. 12

   3. 14

   4. 16

2. And how many ounces are there in a pound?

   1. 9

   2. 12

   3. 14

   4. 16

3. And how many pounds are there in a stone?

   1. 9

   2. 12

   3. 14

   4. 16

4. When you weigh something in stones, pounds and ounces, what is the correct abbreviation of pound?

   1. lb

   2. pb

   3. pd

5. Which is warmer? 20 degrees Celsius, or 68 degrees Fahrenheit?

   1. 20 degrees Celsius

   2. 68 degrees Fahrenheit

   3. They are both roughly the same

6. Mostly used by horses, according to the UK's weights and measures act 1985, how many yards are in a furlong?

   1. 110

   2. 220

   3. 330

   4. 440

7. If you order a pound of sausages, approximately how many grams of sausages are you getting?

   1. 250g

   2. 350g

   3. 450g

   4. 550g

8. If you are measuring capacity in the UK, how many gallons are there in a peck?

   1. 2

   2. 4

   3. 6

   4. 12

9. Which is more – four pints or three litres?

   1. Four pints

   2. Three litres

   3. They are roughly the same

10. How much is a dram?

    1. 1/16 ounce

    2. 1/16 pecks

    3. 1/16 inches

11. How many grains are in a pennyweight?

    1. 12

    2. 24

    3. 36

12. If you've got some ballast, which weighs more, a hundredweight of it, or a metric ton of it?

    1. A hundredweight

    2. A metric ton

    3. They are both roughly the same

13. The UK's weights and measures act 1985 also legislates how electricity is measured. What is this the legal definition of: 'the power which in one second gives rise to energy of 1 joule'

    1. Watt

    2. Ohm

    3. Volt

    4. Ampere

14. What is legally defined in the UK's weights and measures act 1985 as 'a cubic decimetre'?

    1. A hectolitre

    2. A millilitre

    3. A decilitre

    4. A litre

15. You measure land in acres in the imperial system. What is the equivalent in the metric system?

    1. Carat

    2. Minim

    3. Hectare

    4. Hectogram

16. What is the metric size of a standard bottle of wine?

    1. 400 ml

    2. 600 ml

    3. 750 ml

    4. 850 ml

17. Which is longer – ten metres or forty feet?

    1. Ten metres

    2. Forty feet

    3. They are both roughly the same

18. And finally, the government isn't proposing bringing them back, but everybody loves the cubit. Roughly how long was a cubit?

    1. Roughly four inches

    2. Roughly eighteen inches

    3. Roughly forty-four inches

    4. Roughly one hundred and twenty inches

Solutions

1:B - There are twelve inches in a foot, even though most people have ten toes, 2:D - It is legally defined in the UK that one ounce is a sixteenth of a pound. Sixteen being a number you can count up to easily by using both hands and one-and-a-bit of your feet, 3:C - There are sixteen ounces in a pound, and fourteen pounds in a stone. Absolutely logical, 4:A - It is an abbreviation ultimately derived from the Latin phrase 'libra pondo', 5:C - They are both roughly the same. (20°C × 9/5) + 32 = 68°F is how you convert from one to the other., 6:B - There are 220 yards in a furlong, which makes a furlong ten chains long, 7:C - A pack of six-to-eight sausages usually weighs in at around 454g, 8:A - Legally in the UK there are two gallons in a peck. There are then various numbers of pecks in a bushel, depending on where you live and what you are measuring, so we'll leave that to one side, 9:B - It is three litres, which is the equivalent of 5.2 pints, or about £32 if you are buying a round of five pints of beer in London these days, 10:A - It is a measurement of mass or weight, not of capacity or distance, 11:B - There are 24 grains in a pennyweight. A grain is defined as 1/7000 of a pound, so a pennyweight doesn't weigh much at all, 12:B - A metric ton is defined as 1,000kg. A hundredweight is defined as 112 pounds, which is the equivalent of 50.8kg, 13:A - That is how you measure a watt. The legislation also defines kilowatts and megawatts, 14:D - That is the definition given of a litre, essentially a cube that is 10cm x 10cm x 10cm, 15:C - Hectogram and carats measure weight, while a minim measures capacity, so it is a hectare, which is the equivalent of 2.47 acres, 16:C - That's roughly 25 fluid ounces, or 1.31 pints, 17:B - Forty feet is just over twelve metres long, 18:B - It probably varied between about 17 inches and 21 inches, and was measured from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was sub-divided into palms and fingers

Scores

1. 0 and above.

   We hope you had fun!