How many scruples are in one ounce?

One avoirdupois ounce contains approximately 21.875 scruples. Note that the scruple belongs to the apothecary system, so this conversion crosses between two different weight traditions. In the apothecary system itself, one apothecary ounce contains exactly 24 scruples.

What is a scruple in weight measurement?

A scruple is an apothecary unit equal to 20 grains or approximately 1.296 grams. Three scruples make one apothecary dram, and 24 scruples make one apothecary ounce. The unit was standard in pharmaceutical compounding until the metric system replaced apothecary weights in modern practice.

Is the weight scruple related to the word for moral doubt?

Yes, both meanings share the same Latin root 'scrupulus,' meaning a small sharp stone. The idea was that a scruple of conscience pricks you like a small stone in your shoe, while a scruple of weight is similarly small and pointed in its precision. Both convey the notion of something tiny but significant.

Ounces to Scruples (oz to s ap) Converter

1 oz = 21.875 s ap

1 Ounce equals 21.875 Scruples (1 oz = 21.875 s ap). Convert Ounces to Scruples with formula, table, and examples.

One avoirdupois ounce equals approximately 21.875 scruples. The scruple is an apothecary unit of weight equal to 20 grains or approximately 1.296 grams, historically used for measuring pharmaceutical ingredients. Although obsolete in modern pharmacy, the scruple remains a fascinating relic of the apothecary weight system.

How to Convert Ounces to Scruples

s ap = oz × 21.875

Multiply the value in Ounces by 21.875

Take your value in Ounces
Multiply by 21.875
Read the result in Scruples

Common Ounces to Scruples Conversions

Ounces (oz)	Scruples (s ap)	Status
0.25 oz	5.4688 s ap
0.5 oz	10.9375 s ap
1 oz	21.875 s ap
2 oz	43.75 s ap
4 oz	87.5 s ap
8 oz	175 s ap
10 oz	218.75 s ap
16 oz	350 s ap
24 oz	525 s ap
32 oz	700 s ap
48 oz	1,050 s ap
64 oz	1,400 s ap
100 oz	2,187.5 s ap
128 oz	2,800 s ap
256 oz	5,600 s ap

Good to Know About Ounces to Scruples Conversion

The scruple survived far longer than most apothecary units because physicians and pharmacists resisted metrication more stubbornly than other professions. In the United States, apothecary weights including the scruple were not officially phased out of pharmaceutical practice until the latter half of the 20th century, making them among the last imperial units to yield to the metric system in a scientific field.

Ounces to Scruples: What You Need to Know

Apothecary scruples appeared on pharmaceutical prescriptions through the mid-20th century in the United States and Britain. A physician might prescribe 'two scruples' of a compound, and the pharmacist would weigh exactly 40 grains using a balance scale. Historical pharmaceutical texts and antique medicine recipes frequently reference scruples, making this conversion essential for historians, collectors, and researchers studying pre-metric pharmacy.

What is a Ounce? oz

An imperial and US customary unit of mass equal to approximately 28.35 grams. Commonly used in the US and UK for food and postal weight.

Imperial Us-customary food packaging (US/UK) postal weight cooking (US)

Learn more about Ounce →

What is a Scruple? s ap

An apothecary scruple equals 20 grains or 1/3 of a dram apothecary (1.2959782 grams). A historical pharmaceutical unit largely replaced by metric measurements.

Apothecaries historical pharmacy historical medicine

Learn more about Scruple →

Going the other way? Use our Scruples to Ounces converter.

Ounces to Scruples FAQ

One avoirdupois ounce contains approximately 21.875 scruples. Note that the scruple belongs to the apothecary system, so this conversion crosses between two different weight traditions. In the apothecary system itself, one apothecary ounce contains exactly 24 scruples.
A scruple is an apothecary unit equal to 20 grains or approximately 1.296 grams. Three scruples make one apothecary dram, and 24 scruples make one apothecary ounce. The unit was standard in pharmaceutical compounding until the metric system replaced apothecary weights in modern practice.
Yes, both meanings share the same Latin root 'scrupulus,' meaning a small sharp stone. The idea was that a scruple of conscience pricks you like a small stone in your shoe, while a scruple of weight is similarly small and pointed in its precision. Both convey the notion of something tiny but significant.

Non-Frequently Asked Questions About Ounces to Scruples

Questions nobody should ask - but someone did.

Only in the apothecary sense. Having zero scruples of weight means you have zero times 1.296 grams, which is indeed nothing on the scale. Having no moral scruples, however, is an entirely different matter that pharmacists were traditionally not qualified to diagnose, though they may have had opinions.
Shakespeare absolutely used 'scruple' with deliberate double meaning. In several plays, characters refer to scruples in contexts where both the pharmaceutical weight and the moral hesitation apply simultaneously. Elizabethan audiences, accustomed to apothecary terminology, would have caught both meanings instantly.
Assuming each moral dilemma weighs one scruple (1.296 grams), and the average Monday produces about five ethical quandaries (coffee ethics, commute choices, email tone, lunch decisions, and the 3 PM productivity crisis), your Monday would weigh 6.48 grams or about 0.23 ounces of moral uncertainty.