Ratios: People are proportionally sized.

Assignment #______ Name: _____________________

Vitruvian ManLeonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) was a scientist and an artist during Italian Renaissance. Among his paintings is the Mona Lisa.

In 1492, Leonardo drew a picture of a ‘Vitruvian Man’ standing inside a circle and a square. It is a study of the proportions of the human body as described by Vitruvius, a Roman architect from the first century B.C.

Based on his observations of European people of his day, Leonardo believed that arm span was equal to height in a perfectly proportioned body.

Your data

height; h=

cubit; c=

ulna; u=

arm span; a=

c/h =

u/h =

a/h =

  1. Measure your height.
    1. Example; height is 5 feet 10 inches = 5x12 + 10 = 70 inches. h = 70 inches
  2. Measure your cubit. Your cubit is the length from your elbow to the tip of your middle finger.
    1. Example; my cubit is 1 foot 6.5 inches. c = 18.5 inches
  3. Measure your ulna. Your ulna is the length from your hip to the tip of your middle finger of the outstretched opposite arm.
    1. Example; my ulna is 3 feet 7.5 inches. u = 43.5 inches
  4. Measure your arm span. Your arm span is the distance between the tips of your middle fingers with both arms outstretched.
    1. Example; my arm span is 6 feet 10.5 inches. a = 70.5 inches.
  5. Compute the ratio of your cubit to your height ±0.01
    1. Example; c/h = 18.5 in ÷ 70 in = 0.26
  6. Compute the ratio of your ulna to your height ±0.01
    1. Example; u/h = 43.5 ÷ 70 = 0.62
  7. Compute the ratio of your arm span to your height ±0.01
    1. Example; a/h = 70.5 in  ÷ 70 in = 1.01
  8. Add your results to the class list that looks like the one below
Counter List Name:
HT 		List Name:
CB 		List Name:
UL 		List Name:
AS 		List Name: CTOH List Name: UTOH List Name: ATOH
h = Height

 c = Cubit

 u = Ulna

 a = Arm Span

 c/h = Ratio of your cubit to your height ±0.01
 u/h = Ratio of your ulna to your height ±0.01

a/h = Ratio of your arm span to your height ±0.01
1  70 in 43.5 in 18.5 in 70.5 in

0.26

0.62

1.01
2        

 

 

 
3        

 

 

 
4        

 

 

 
5        

 

 

 

-- Be sure to write the units in which h, c, u, and a are measured. Note: 2.54 cm = 1 in