Land is one of the indispensable natural resources which provides for agriculture, human settlements, and industries. Due to this, we need a way of measuring land. One of the units to measure land is an acre, which has been used since the 1300s. We have heard people talk about the land area in terms of acres, but have you ever wondered how big an acre is? Everyone seems to like measuring the land with acres but doesn’t know exactly how big it is. Metric system measurements are straightforward, but the same is not valid for imperial or US customary systems.
It is an imperial or US customary unit for measuring land. Conventionally, it is defined as the area one furlong in length across one chain in breadth. A chain measures 66 feet (about 20.1168 m), and a furlong equals ten chains, i.e., 660 feet.
Conversion :
The conversion in other known units are given below:
- Square feet: 43,560 sq ft = 1 acre
- Square chains: 10 sq chains = 1 acre
- Square mile: 0.0015625 sq mile = 1 acre
- Square yards: 4,840 sq yards = 1 acre
- Square meters: 4,046.9 m2 = 1 acre
Unlike the metric system, different scales of the exact measurement in the imperial system have weird relations. As visible, it has a rectangular shape, but does not have any definite shape as a unit of measurement, any land of 43,560 square feet is an acre.
Measuring
This system was used back then, when there were no calculators and computers because they could measure the land with a chain measure and then easily calculate the area. But not all pieces of land would be in the fashion as an acre is traditionally defined. Odd-shaped lands could be divided into smaller parts of a standard shape. Then each area would be measured using a chain, and it could be added up. Nowadays, it is more easy to find the square footage and then calculate the number of acres.
How An Acre Became A Measuring Unit?
You might wonder why we are using such a system for measuring land. The word “acre” originates from the Old English word æcer, which means “open field”—the origin dates to the olden days. When ploughing with a yoke of oxen, the animals (and the farmer) had a practice of resting after ploughing a furrow for 1/8 of a mile. As a result, 1/8 of a mile has come to be known as furrow-long or furlong. Furlongs are not really in use anymore except for the exception of measuring horse racing tracks. As a practice, the farmers used to plough a furlong and then turned around and ploughed in the other direction. These lands were laid out so that they could finish a land every ten rounds with a 10-inch ploughshare (total of about 16.5 feet).
The farmers used to start early in the morning and finish about two lands by noon. At noon they would stop for lunch and feed and water the animals. After the noon break, they could complete two more lands. So, in total, a good day’s work would be about four lands, or 40 rounds (80 furrows) measured 16.5 × 4 = 66 feet across by a furlong (660 feet). Therefore, this area of 43,560 feet ploughed became the standard unit of measuring land called an acre. Since this unit of measuring land has been used for a long time, it has been carried over and is in practice even today.
Comparing An Acre
This numerical jargon might confuse you, and you might not be getting a good idea of how big an acre is. The best way to see this is by comparing it with things in everyday life. An acre of land can fit about 15.5 tennis courts, 9.3 basketball courts, and 18 houses with an area of 2400 square feet. Or, if you want a crazier estimate, you can go around putting 6,96,960 Post-Its in an acre of land.
Conclusion
An Acre is an imperial unit of measuring land area equal to 43,560 square feet, or measuring 4046.86 square meters. It originated as the area of land that an ox can plough in one day. The size of an acre can be visualized as equal to 18 suburban houses. Despite more concrete metric units, acres are still being used as a unit to measure land, as it has been in practice since the Middle Ages.
FAQs:
- How do you define an acre?
It is an imperial unit measuring the area of land. Land which measures an area of 43,560 square feet is equal to an acre of land.
- How many square meters make up an acre?
Approximately 4,046.9 square meters.
- How many average-sized houses can fit in an acre?
About 18 houses of an area of 2400 square feet can fit in an acre.
