Q&A for How to Use a Ruler

All modern rulers use same type of Arabic numerals; there are no "Spanish" numbers.

Yes, that is how you would read it. However, if it were 6/16ths, you would simplify the fraction to 3/8ths of an inch.

The measurement is not at the edge so that the ruler can be damaged at the edges a little and still be an accurate ruler.

It depends on the length of the ruler. But knowing that there are 12 inches in a foot, if your ruler has 12 inches, then your ruler is one foot. If it is a yard stick, or 36 inches, then it is three feet long.

Either move your ruler from point zero to the beginning point you are measuring or take the number of inches or centimeters from point zero to point "A" (the point from where you are measuring) and subtract that number from both point "A" and point "B."

If you have an inch ruler with ten lines between each inch mark, you have a decimal inch ruler. For example, three small lines after the eight inch mark would give you 8.3 inches. This is unusual on inch rulers, and is a feature borrowed from the metric system.

Every big tick is one inch. The smallest ticks measure 1/16 of an inch.

This is a common problem with broken rulers. You can still use the intact parts by subtracting measurements. For example, if you only have the part of the ruler between 10 and 15 centimeters, you can use it to measure up to five centimeters by subtracting the end point from the starting point.