science

Mace (unit)

Mace (unit) 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 Mace (unit) rather than just read about it. In short: A mace (Chinese: 錢; pinyin: qián; Hong Kong English usage: tsin; Southeast Asian English usage: chee) is a traditional Chinese measurement of weight in East Asia that was also used as a currency denomination. It is equal to 10 candareens and is 1⁄10 of a tael or approximately 3.78 grams.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

A mace (Chinese: 錢; pinyin: qián; Hong Kong English usage: tsin; Southeast Asian English usage: chee) is a traditional Chinese measurement of weight in East Asia that was also used as a currency denomination. It is equal to 10 candareens and is 1⁄10 of a tael or approximately 3.78 grams. A troy mace is approximately 3.7429 grams. In Hong Kong, one mace is 3.779936375 grams. and in Ordinance 22 of 1884, it is 2⁄15 ounces avoirdupois. In Singapore, one mace (referred to as chee) is 3.77994 grams. In imperial China, 10 candareens equaled 1 mace which was 1⁄10 of a tael and, like the other units, was used in weight-denominated silver currency system. A common denomination was 7 mace and 2 candareens, equal to one silver Chinese yuan.

Name Like other similar measures such as tael and catty, the English word "mace" derives from Malay, in this case through Dutch maes, plural masen, from Malay mas which, in turn, derived from Sanskrit māṣa (माष), a word related to "mash," another name for the urad bean, and masha, a traditional Indian unit of weight equal to 0.97 gram. This word is unrelated to other uses of "mace" in English. The Chinese word for mace is qián (Chinese: 錢), which is also a generic word for "money" in Mandarin Chinese. The same Chinese character (kanji) was used for the Japanese sen, the former unit equal to 1⁄100 of a Japanese yen, the Korean chŏn (revised: jeon), the former unit equal to 1⁄100 of a Korean won, and for the Vietnamese tiền, a currency used in late imperial Vietnam, although none of these has ever been known as "mace" in English. Besides in precious metal measurements (gold, silver) in Vietnam, mace is chỉ which is equivalent to 37.5 grams.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mace (unit)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mace (unit) 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 Mace (unit) 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 Mace (unit) 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 Mace (unit)

In research: Mace (unit) 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 Mace (unit) 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: Mace (unit) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Chinese history stubs, Chinese units of measurement in Hong Kong, Currencies of Asia, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mace (unit) 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 Mace (unit) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mace (unit) 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 Mace (unit) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mace (unit) in simple terms?

Why does Mace (unit) 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 Mace (unit)?

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 Mace (unit).