3 inches is one-quarter of a foot in length and is often used to measure the length or height of small items.
Comparing the size of 3 inches to well-known objects can be very helpful if you don’t have a measuring tape on hand and are trying to get a sense of how long the measurement is.
The following items can be used to reference the size of 3 inches.
1 Crayon
Crayons have been around since 1903 and are a popular drawing and coloring tool. A crayon is made out of colored wax and is used to color images in coloring books, write on paper, and other forms of artwork.
Crayons are commonly found in schools where kids use them quite often. They can be purchased in most office supply and larger chain stores.
A single crayon is normally 3 inches long and is a perfect example of something that can be used to reference the size of 3 inches.
1/3 Lunch plate diameter
Lunch plates can vary in size but on average, a lunch plate is 9 inches in diameter. This is the distance from one side of the plate to the other cutting the plate into 2 equal halves.
Lunch plates are normally smaller than dinner plates and larger than dessert plates.
If you picture the diameter of a lunch plate, 3 inches is exactly one-third of the size.
1/2 iPhone length
The Apple iPhone is popular for many different reasons and although they are not all the same size, they can be used as a reference for comparing the size of other things.
For example, the iPhone 13 is 6.1 inches long. If you are looking to get a sense of how long 3 inches is, picture half of this iPhone.
If you know your iPhone is 6 inches long, it can be used to measure many other items as most likely you won’t have a ruler or measuring tape on you at the time you need it.
1/4 Height of 2L soda bottle
Many people will have a 2L soda bottle at home or have seen one at the grocery store.
These bottles are great to use as a measuring tool as they are exactly 12 inches or 1 foot long which is a common measurement.
If you can imagine a 2L soda bottle cut into 4 equal parts, each part would measure 3 inches long.
Therefore 3 inches is exactly ¼ size of a 2L soda bottle.
3 Bottlecaps
Normally a plastic bottlecap is placed on top of a soda or water bottle as a closure and seals in the liquid inside.
These bottlecaps can be made of plastic or metal and are around 1 inch in length.
3 bottlecaps placed together in a row would equal 3 inches long.
1.5 Business cards
Business cards are very common and are generally handed out as a source of information about a person or business.
If you want someone to remember important information like a phone number or name of a business, you will give them a business card which is used as a quick and convenient reference source.
Most business cards have the dimensions of 3.5 inches long x 2 inches wide.
Therefore 1.5 business cards placed side by side will equal 3 inches in size.
1 Post-it note
A Post-it note is sometimes called a sticky note and is used for attaching notes to documents or a notice board.
Post-it notes are made out of paper and have an adhesive strip on the back which allows them to stick.
Although there are different sizes of Post-it notes available, the most common size is 3×3 which is 3 inches long and 3 inches wide.
A Post-it note is a great item to use when referencing the size of 3 inches.
1/6 Square toss pillow
If you like to decorate your living room or bedroom, you will know that toss pillows are available in a variety of sizes.
One of the most common sizes for a toss pillow is 18×18 inches which is equal to 1.5 feet square.
You can use a toss pillow to reference the size of 3 inches as it will be exactly one-sixth of the size.
