Lesson 10 — Activity 1: Measuring Length



Getting Ready


You might not realize it, but you probably think a lot about measurement every day. How far is it to the grocery store? Will the new couch you bought fit through the door to your apartment?

Can your truck hold a really heavy load of gravel? How big is that newborn calf? To answer these kinds of questions, you would use measurement.

Courtesy of Getty


Try This:

Choose one of the following activities and think about how you might use measurement when completing it:

  • cooking
  • purchasing clothes
  • playing a sport
  • planning a trip



  • For cooking, you may have thought about the measurements used in a recipe, how much to make so each member of the family gets the appropriate amount of food, how to convert measurements and oven temperatures, how the weight of food affects cooking time, the cost of ingredients for a recipe, or how many servings from each food group you need each day, etc.
  • For playing a sport, you may have thought about the distance of the sports field, court, or rink, the distance or depth needed to score, etc.
  • For purchasing clothing, you may have thought about the measurements needed for a particular size, the costs of items versus how much money you have to spend, etc.
  • For planning a trip, you may have thought of calculating the mileage, calculating the distance travelled, determining how much gas is needed, etc.

You may have thought of other ideas as well!

In this theme, you will look closely at systems of measurement.



The metric system is a system of measurement that was created so that people around the world could talk about measurement using the same standard system. The metric system is sometimes called the SI System. SI refers to System International, commonly known as Standard International Units.



Image courtesy of ADLC

The imperial system is also a system of measurement. It was the traditional system of weights and measurements, which was developed in Great Britain and used from 1824 until the adoption of the metric system beginning in 1965. Canada adopted the metric system as its official system in 1974.



Image courtesy of ADLC

This first lesson will focus on using the metric system to measure length, mass (weight), and capacity and volume. In a later lesson, you will look at how temperatures are measured and the systems that are used to measure them.


Let's begin by thinking about measuring length. The base unit for length is the metre (m). Other common measurement units for length are millimetres, centimetres, and kilometres.


  • A millimetre (mm) is 1/1,000th of a metre, or about the thickness of a dime.


      

Image courtesy of ADLC

  • A centimetre (cm) is 10 millimetres long, or 1/100th of a metre . A nickel is about 2 centimetres wide.


     

Image courtesy of ADLC


  • A metre (m) is about the width of a twin bed. There are 1,000 millimetres in a metre.


Image courtesy of www.pixabay.com

  • A kilometre (km) is 1,000 metres long. It takes about 12 minutes to walk 1 kilometre.


        

Image courtesy of iStock




Units used to measure length depend on what is being measured. For example:


The distance between towns and cities is measured in kilometres.


Image courtesy of iStock

          

Image courtesy of iStock

The width of a book can be measured in millimetres or centimetres.


Someone's height can be measured in metres and centimetres.




  • Metres can also be used to measure the length of a house, a football field, or the size of a playground.

Image courtesy of Pixabay


Try This:


Practise choosing the appropriate length of measure for the items below.


If you wanted to measure the distance between your home and the school, you would choose:

  • millimetres (mm)
  • centimetres (cm)
  • metres (m)
  • kilometres (km)


 The most appropriate unit would be kilometres (km).

Image courtesy of Pixabay



Image courtesy of Pixabay

If you wanted to measure the height of a TV set, you would choose:


  • millimetres (mm)
  • centimetres (cm)
  • metres (m)
  • kilometres (km)


 The most appropriate unit would be centimetres (cm).


If you wanted to measure the length of a plot of ground to construct a vegetable garden,  you would choose:


  • millimetres (mm)
  • centimetres (cm)
  • metres (m)
  • kilometres (km)


The most appropriate unit would be metres (m).


Image courtesy of Pixabay


Try answering questions in this interactive video to practice measuring using a metric ruler.


Two of the most common ways to measure a distance are using a metre stick and a measuring wheel.

  • A metre stick is used to measure fairly short distances, and uses centimetres and millimetres as its units.
  • A measuring wheel is used to measure longer distances especially over uneven ground. This uses metres as its unit of measure. A counter is attached to the wheel and as the wheel rolls over the surface, the counter keeps track of how far the wheel has rolled. These can be used to measure distances around the yard , on a sports field, or even on a seismic line!


It is interesting to try estimating longer distances and then see how close your estimate was.

To estimate, first you would measure your stride. Stride is the length of your foot , from heel to heel. (It is basically the distance you travel with each step you take.) Do the following to measure your stride:

  • Mark the starting point of the heel of your foot, either your left or right foot.
  • Take 10 steps in a straight line.
  • Mark the ending point of your foot, the same foot as at the start.
  • Measure the distance between the two marks. Use a metre stick to do this.
  • Divide the results by 10 to get the average stride length.

Once you have the average stride length, you can estimate longer distances by walking lengths and widths. Then you can make an actual measurement and see how close your estimate was.   

Image courtesy of Pixabay


  Self-check!

Try this!

Try this activity to further practice identifying measuring units.


In each of these situations, decide what unit (mm, cm, m or km) you would give the measurement:


The distance between Grande Prairie and Lethbridge


The length of a pencil


The thickness of a quarter


The distance between Edmonton and Jasper National Park


The width of the sole of your foot


The length of a rainbow trout fish


Try this!

Try this activity to further practice identifying measuring tools


In each of these situations, decide what device (metre stick, or measuring wheel) you would use to measure the object:


The length of a football field


The length of a desk


The height of a workbench in the garage


The height of a 4 year old



Digging Deeper

 

Click here to watch a video that shows a day in the life of a Canadian truck driver. Look for examples of measuring distance in the video.

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