Math is a subject that has been around for thousands of years. It has many dimensions and measurements that make it so interesting, and we can all take advantage of them to make our lives easier.
Dimensions are used to measure lengths and widths. They also measure height, depth, weight, and temperature.
The main difference between length, width, height, and depth is their size.
Length is often the longest distance between two points in a straight line. Width is the shortest distance between two points in a straight line. The height of an object is its distance from top to bottom, while its depth is measured from one side of an object to the other on its underside.
Let’s dive into the details of all these terms.
Page Contents
What Is Meant By Length?
Generally, length refers to the distance between two sides or ends of something. It can often be measured in meters or centimeters.
The length of an object is often measured by the number of times it takes to wrap it around a person’s hand (one wrap = 2 inches). This is called “circumference.”
The length of a person’s arm is determined by measuring the distance between their elbow and their middle finger. This measurement is called “arm span.”
There are also several different units for measuring length, including inches, feet, and yards (1 foot = 12 inches), miles (1 mile = 5,280 feet), kilometers (1 kilometer = 1,000 meters), and so on.
What Is Meant By “Width?”
The term “width” is used in mathematics to describe how wide a shape is. The width of a body can be measured using two different measurements: the vertical distance between its edges and the horizontal distance between its sides.
For example, if a rectangle has vertical sides measuring 4 inches and horizontal sides measuring 1 inch, its width is 5 inches.
Width is a measurement of distance that describes how wide an object is. It’s usually measured in millimeters (mm), although it can also be measured in inches, feet, or meters.
What Is Meant By “Depth?”
Depth measures how far into or out of an object you can see. In math, it’s usually used to refer to the length of a line segment. It’s also sometimes used to describe the number of steps needed to reach a destination.
For example:
- If you’re looking at a straight road and trying to figure out how far something is, you’d say it’s three miles deep down the road.
- If your friend is standing on top of a hill, looking at something in the distance, and asks how many steps they’d have to take for you both to get together, you would say, “One step deeper down.”
What Is Meant By “Height?”
An object’s height is determined by its distance from the ground to its top.
In mathematics, heights are measured in meters. Whenever you want to determine the height of something, you need to measure it from its base to its top.
There are two types of measurements: direct and indirect. Direct measurement is when someone measures the height directly with a measuring tape or ruler. An indirect measurement is when someone uses an instrument that measures directly but indirectly transmits its results (for example, using a calculator).
Know The Difference
The terms height, length, width, and depth are all used to describe the dimensions of an object.
Height
- Height refers to the distance between an object’s bottom and its top.
- It’s also known as altitude or elevation.
- It is measured in meters and centimeters.
Length
- Length is the distance from one end of an object to another; for example, the length of a table or chair.
- Length is also called linear distance or linear dimension.
- It’s measured in meters, centimeters, and inches.
Width
- “Width” describes the distance between two parallel sides of an object.
- Width is a measurement that describes how wide something is, such as a book or piece of paper.
- Width is also called breadth and lateral dimension.
- It’s measured in meters, centimeters, inches, and feet.
Depth
- Depth is the distance from one side of an object to another side of an object.
- Depth is similar to length but describes how far into something you can go.
Height, length, and width are linear measurements, while depth is volumetric.
Here is a table of comparison between these terms.
| Terms | Definition | Unit | Measurement |
| Length | Depth is how far into an object you can go before hitting its bottom or sides. | Meter, Centimeter, Inches, Feet | Linear |
| Width | Width is the horizontal distance from one side to another side of an object. | Meter, Centimeter, Inches, Feet | Linear |
| Depth | Height is the vertical distance from the top to the bottom of an object. | Meter, Centimeter | Volumetric |
| Height | Height is the vertical distance from the top to the bottom of an object. | Meter, Centimeter | Linear |
Here is an interesting video describing different dimensions in detail.
Are Depth And Height The Same?
Depth and height are not the same.
Depth is just how deep something is—like how deep a pool or hole is; height is the distance from the bottom to the top of something.
So if you’re talking about a person’s height, it’s how tall they are, and if you’re talking about the depth of a room, it’s how far down it goes.
Does Depth Mean Wide?
Depth can mean both, depending on what you’re talking about.
If you say, “She has a deep voice,” that means her voice is low and resonant, like an opera singer or a choir director.
But when you say “she has a wide range of interests,” that means she is interested in many different things outside her field. For example, she might love art history but also enjoy watching football games on television.
So depth can refer to both breadth and depth of knowledge or understanding, but it usually refers to a person’s level of expertise in their field or area of interest.
What Is The Meaning Of W * D * H?
W * D * H is an acronym for “Width, Depth, Height.” It’s a measurement used to describe the size of objects.
Width and depth are usually measured in inches or centimeters. Height is measured in millimeters. For example, a container might be considered 8″ W X 6″ D X 2″ H.
How Do You Measure Depth?
Depth is a measure of how far away something is from the surface. Depth measurement is important because it helps you determine how deep you must dig to find what you’re looking for.
Measurement of depth is done with the help of a depth gauge. It has a curved part that allows it to conform to the shape of whatever you’re measuring and a ruler on the side so you can measure the distance.
Final Takeaway
- Maths is an important subject that you can apply in your daily life.
- You can find different dimensions and measurements of maths applicable to your life scenarios.
- These dimensions include height, length, width, and depth.
- Length is the distance from one line’s end to the other.
- An object’s width is how far apart it is from another.
- Height refers to the distance between the item’s base and its top.
- The depth of a surface is the distance from its surface to the farthest point within it.
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FAQs
What's The Difference Between Length, Width, Height, And Depth? (Measured)? ›
While length is the longest side of a shape, width is the shorter side, and height is the vertical dimension or depth of the shape.
What is the difference between length and width and depth? ›Width (Side to Side): The distance or length of the item that's touching or stretches across the wall. Depth (Back to Front): The distance or length it comes out from the wall and into the room. Height (Bottom to Top): The length starting from the floor and going to the top of the piece.
What is the meaning of W * D * H? ›Width (W): It is the total width of your piece of furniture in its widest part, including armrests. Height (H): It is the total height of your piece of furniture, measured from the floor and including pillows. Depth (D): It is the total depth of your piece of furniture, including pillows.
What is the depth in a measurement? ›Commonly abbreviated as D, depth is a measurement of how far back a three-dimensional object is. For example, measurements of an object, such as a computer monitor, are commonly measured as (D x W x H), short for Depth by Width by Height. In the illustration, the Z-axis is the depth.
What does height width and depth mean? ›Width (W): The measurement from left to right (when facing the front of the piece of furniture) Height: (H): The measurement of the item from the floor (if freestanding) to the very top of the product. Depth (D): The measurement of the item from front to back.
Is depth bigger than width? ›Beams depth is greater than to its width because it can bear to more load and develops less stress...
Is depth same as height? ›What is the difference between Depth and Height? Depth is always measured in the downward direction, whereas the height is always measured in the upward direction. Depth is mostly used in fields such as nautical engineering, geology and hydrodynamics.
How do dimensions go in order? ›Length, width, height, depth.
What comes first length or width or height? ›To measure a box, you will need to use a ruler or measuring tape to measure the length, width and height of the box. Listed dimensions are always inside dimensions. The first dimension to measure is length.
What goes first length or width? ›What is the standard? What comes first? The Graphics' industry standard is width by height (width x height). Meaning that when you write your measurements, you write them from your point of view, beginning with the width.
What is height to depth? ›
In simple terms, the HTD ratio describes the ratio between how tall the rack is compared with how wide it is at its base. A rack that is 10 feet tall and 10 feet wide (a 1-1 HTD Ratio) will be much more stable (less likely to fall over) than a rack that is 10 feet tall and 1 foot wide (a 10-1 HTD ratio).
Is length and width the same thing? ›Length is the distance from one end of an object to the other. It is the longest dimension. Width is the distance from one side of an object to the other. It is the shortest dimension.
Is length and height the same thing? ›Difference between length and height is very precise, as length denotes how long the shape is, and height denotes how tall it is. Length is the horizontal measurement in a plane, whereas height is the vertical measurement. In Geometry, the important parameters used to describe shapes are length, breadth and height.
What does 24x36 mean? ›A: 24x36 is considered “portrait” orientation, while 36x24 is considered “landscape”. Common design practices use the first number as the width, and the second number as the height, so to answer your question, YES they are the same size, but 24x36 is tall, while 36x24 is wide.
How do you read dimensions? ›All box dimensions are written as length x width x height. For example, 14" x 11" x 4" means 14" (L) x 11" (W) x 4" (H)".
What is an example of length? ›Some examples of measurement of length using standard units are centimeters, meters, kilometers, inches, feet, yards, etc.
How do you measure length and width? ›- Step 1: Measure length. Arrange your object so that the longer dimension is horizontal and the shortest dimension is vertical. Place the end of your measuring tool at the left edge of the object. ...
- Step 2: Measure width. Place the end of the measuring tool at the top of the object.
depth noun (DISTANCE DOWN)
There are very few fish at depths (= distances below the surface) below 3,000 metres. The river froze to a depth of over a metre. the lowest part of the sea: The ship sank slowly to the depths of the ocean.
fathom, old English measure of length, now standardized at 6 feet (1.83 metre), which has long been used as a nautical unit of depth.
What is the depth measurement 6ft? ›A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems equal to 6 feet (1.8288 m), used especially for measuring the depth of water.
What are the 3 numbers for dimensions? ›
We've taken two measurements from this envelope: length 16 cm and height 8 cm. Two measurements are still not enough for the majority of the objects around us, because they are three-dimensional bodies. That means that we need three measurements, length, width, and height.
How do measurements work? ›Measurement is the quantification of attributes of an object or event, which can be used to compare with other objects or events. In other words, measurement is a process of determining how large or small a physical quantity is as compared to a basic reference quantity of the same kind.
Which measurement is the smallest? ›The smallest length with any meaning is the Planck length (about 1.6 x 10-35 meter) Quarks are very very small (less than 10-19 meters) A Hydrogen atom is about 100 picometers in diameter (1.06 x 10-10 meters) Molecules are around the billionths of a meter in size.
What is the standard for listing dimensions? ›It's height then width and then depth.
The standard is to list the height, then the width. The depth, if applicable, would be listed third.
The first number is the width (W), the second number is the depth (D), and the third number is the height (H). Another way to write the same measurements would be: 30″W x 16″D x 36″H. In this format, all of the dimensions are listed one after the other, separated by a space.
How do you calculate dimensions? ›How To Calculate the Dimensions of a Box. The dimensions of a box formula is pretty straightforward: length x width x height.
What is the order of length width and height? ›These dimensions are always expressed in the order where the length comes first, followed by the width and then the height. This means if the dimensions of a box are to be measured they are expressed in the order of length, width and height.
Which way is the width? ›Width can be defined as the horizontal measurement or distance measured from side to side. Which way is width measured? It is measured at right angles to the length. Width measures an object from one side to another.
What is the difference between length and measurement? ›That is, the length of a line is the distance between its endpoints. Similarly, the length of the side of an object is the distance between the two endpoints of the side being measured. Measuring the length of an object or an shape gives us an idea about its size.
How big is 18 by 24 inch? ›| Inches | Centimetres (cm) | Milimmetres (mm) |
|---|---|---|
| 16 x 24 inch | 40.64 x 60.96 cm | 406.4 x 609.6 mm |
| 18 x 24 inch | 45.72 x 60.96 cm | 457.2 x 609.6 mm |
| 20 x 20 inch | 50.8 x 50.8 cm | 508 x 508 mm |
| 20 x 24 inch | 50.8 x 60.96 cm | 508 x 609.6 mm |
How big is 24 by 36 inches? ›
Well, 24x36 inches equals — to be precise — 60.94x91. 44 cm! Now that it's in centimetres, you can see that it's a pretty unusual size. However, if you took a trip to the US, for instance, it's very likely that you'll find a print of this size.
How big is 12x24 frame? ›Fits 12x24 inch Photos! Actual Frame size (finished size) is 14.5x26. 5 inches. This frame is 1.5 inches wide and 0.7500 inches high.
What are the 5 basic measurements? ›The basic units for length or distance measurements in the English system are the inch, foot, yard, and mile. Other units of length also include the rod, furlong, and chain.
What are the 4 basic measurements? ›Although the concept of weights and measures today includes such factors as temperature, luminosity, pressure, and electric current, it once consisted of only four basic measurements: mass (weight), distance or length, area, and volume (liquid or grain measure).
What are the 4 different measurements? ›Psychologist Stanley Stevens developed the four common scales of measurement: nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio.
What are dimensions explained for dummies? ›To break it down, dimensions are simply the different facets of what we perceive to be reality. We are immediately aware of the three dimensions that surround us on a daily basis – those that define the length, width, and depth of all objects in our universes (the x, y, and z axes, respectively).
Is depth another word for width? ›Three dimensions
But you may also refer to the other dimensions as width and depth (and these are pretty much interchangeable, depending on what “seems” wide or deep about the figure).
The Graphics' industry standard is width by height (width x height). Meaning that when you write your measurements, you write them from your point of view, beginning with the width.
How do you explain length and width? ›The length of an object tells us how long it is. The width of an object tells us how wide it is. We can measure an object in many ways. At this grade level, the three common units of measurements you will be learning about are centimeters, inches, or feet.
How is length width and depth written? ›For example, a dimension of a rectangular room on a blueprint, 14' 11" X 13' 10" equates to a room size of 14 feet, 11-inches wide by 13 feet, 10-inches long. Dimensions are expressed as width by length by height or depth in three-dimensional space.