Weights and measures have played an important part in the life of trading nations for millenia. This picture from an old Egyptian ‘Book of the Dead’ around 1286 BC shows a man’s heart being weighed against an ostrich feather. All rather obscure, but it does show that scales have been in use for many years. Comparison of different systems of weights and measures (for example, metric and British Imperial) provide some challenges. But there are more interesting mathematical challenges as well. For example, Bachet’s problem: What is the least number of weights that can be used on a scale pan to weigh any whole number of pounds from 1 to 40 inclusive, if the weights can be placed in either of the scale pans? The statement of this problem can be strengthened; do you see how?
