science

Lot (weight)

Lot (weight) is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Lot (weight) rather than just read about it. In short: The Lot (formerly also written Loth) was a unit of measurement of mass, which was mainly used in German-speaking states of the Holy Roman Empire and in Scandinavia. It was replaced in the German Reich in 1868/69/72, in Austria in 1871/76 and in Switzerland in 1875/77 by the metric unit of measurement, the gramme.

Key takeaways

Lot (weight) belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Lot (weight) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Lot (weight) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Lot (formerly also written Loth) was a unit of measurement of mass, which was mainly used in German-speaking states of the Holy Roman Empire and in Scandinavia. It was replaced in the German Reich in 1868/69/72, in Austria in 1871/76 and in Switzerland in 1875/77 by the metric unit of measurement, the gramme. But in the early 20th century it was still used as a popular unit of measure in cooking and baking recipes. An imprecise but clear rule of thumb is that a lot corresponds to a "spoonful".

Old Lot In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the following weight system was traditionally used: 1⁄32 (trading) Pfund = 1 Lot = 4 Quents = 16 Pfennig weights = 32 Heller weights The Lot had different weights in the various German states depending on the definition of the Pfund ("pound"); its definition also varied over time. However it was mostly set at between 14 g and 18 g. Some examples:

14.606 g before May 1856 in Prussia, Anhalt, Hesse, Homburg, Frankfurt am Main, Lippe-Detmold, Schaumburg-Lippe, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Nassau, Reuss, Saxony, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg, Saxe-Gotha, Saxe-Weimar, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Waldeck and Württemberg 15.1 g in Mecklenburg-Schwerin 15.2 g in Lübeck 15.6 g in Baden, Bremen and the Grand Duchy of Hesse 155⁄8 = 15.625g in Württemberg 15.9 g in Saxe-Meiningen 17.5 g in Austria 17.6 g in Bavaria

New Lot, Zoll-Lot, Postlot On 27 May 1856, an act concerning "a common state weight" system was issued in Prussia for the German Customs Union (Deutscher Zollverein). This redefined the weights as follow:

1 Pfund = 0.5 kg 1⁄120,000 Last = 1⁄3000 Center = 1⁄30 Pfund = 1 Lot = 10 Quents = 100 Cents = 1,000 Grains 1 Lot corresponded to 16.666 g and at the same time to a Vereinstaler fine. It was thus also used as a unit of silver fineness within the monetary system. See Lot (fineness).

This means that our new weight can easily be compared with the French one, which is also used in other countries, e.g. was introduced in the Netherlands and in Lombardy. In comparison tables of old and new units of measurement of the same name in Prussia, the pre-1856 Lot (and also other units of measurement) was often used with the prefix "old" and the new Lot, valid from 27 May 1856, with the prefix "Neu" ("new") or "Zoll" ("customs"). The post office also used the term Postlot from 1858. Apart from Prussia, this classification of weights also applied in Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Saxony and the Thuringian states. In north-western Germany, on the other hand, the unit system was adapted more closely to the metric system at the same time. In Brunswick, Bremen, Hamburg, Hanover, Lübeck, Oldenburg and Schaumburg-Lippe the lot was defined as a tenth of a Zollpfund = 50g. In the other states, the pound remained divided into 32 lots. In Austria and Bavaria there was for a time a "metric Lot" of 10 g (repealed by law in 1888). In Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland, this metric Lot lives on as the decagramme to this day.

See also Old Polish units of measurement Obsolete Finnish units of measurement Obsolete Russian units of measurement Obsolete Tatar units of measurement

References

External links sk:Libra (hmotnosť) an extensive (20+) list of values (in grams) a pound had at various times and places in Europe bg:Фунт (единица) a historical value of lot in Bulgaria

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lot (weight)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lot (weight) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Lot (weight) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Lot (weight) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Lot (weight)

In research: Lot (weight) appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Lot (weight) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Lot (weight) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Obsolete units of measurement, Units of mass, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Lot (weight) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Lot (weight) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Lot (weight) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Lot (weight) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lot (weight) in simple terms?

Why does Lot (weight) matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Lot (weight)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Lot (weight).