Lesson 1: Systems of Measurement and Personal Referents
Focus
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Most people have a favourite place. That spot might be your bedroom at home, a cabin at the lake, or a beach in a tropical location. Perhaps your favourite place only exists in your imagination; a place where you can go to create, meditate, or take refuge. How would you describe your favourite place to someone who has never been there? One way you would likely describe your place is to explain how big it is—in other words, you could describe its dimensions.
In Canada, two measurement systems are commonly used—the SI (International System of Units) or metric system, and the imperial system. The SI is the measurement system officially adopted by Canada, but the imperial system is used frequently in the trades and in day-to-day conversations. For example, many people only know their height and weight in imperial units of measure—feet and inches and pounds, for example. In this lesson you will take a look at both systems of measurement.
Since most people don’t usually carry tape measures around with them, you will also relate these measures to common objects, which will allow you to quickly estimate a measurement. Such objects are called referents.
Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to
- provide referents for linear measure including millimetre, centimetre, metre, kilometre, inch, foot, yard, and mile and explain the choices
- compare SI and imperial units, using referents
- estimate a linear measure using a referent, and explain the process used
Lesson Questions
- How can referents be used to estimate measurements?
- Why are there two systems of measurement?
Lesson Completion and Assessment
As you work through each lesson, complete all the questions and learning activities in your binder using paper and pencil, clearly labeling your work (they refer to this as your course folder). These include the Are you Ready, Try This, Share and Self Check questions. Check your work if answers are provided. Remember that these questions provide you with the practice and feedback that you need to successfully complete this course.
Once you have completed all of the learning activities, take the Lesson Quiz. This is the assessment for each lesson and is located under the Assess tab or by using the Quizzes link under the Activities block.
** Note – Share questions may have to be done on your own depending on your learning situation**