Watch: Estimating and measuring
How can we measure length or height?
We can measure lengths or heights in different units.
- An insect might be measured in millimetres (mm).
- A book might be measured in centimetres (cm).
- A playground might be measured in metres (m).
- The distance to the shops might be measured in kilometres (km).
We can solve problems of length and height if we know the different units and how they are related.
Example 1
Five children have the following heights:
Children | Height |
---|---|
Noah | 96 cm |
Dessie | 90 cm |
Layla | 120 cm |
Carley | 115 cm |
Bilal | 106 cm |
The children are all standing behind a wall which is 1 metre high. Whose head can be seen above the wall?
The measurement for the height of the wall is in metres, but the measurements for each child's height is in centimetres. So we need to convert the height of the wall from metres into centimetres.
1 metre = 100 cm
Look through the table again to see who is taller than 100 cm.
So, Layla, Carley and Bilal can be seen over the wall.
Example 2
The children's eyes are 10 cm below the top of their heads. The eye heights of the five children are shown in the table below:
Children | Eye height |
---|---|
Noah | 86 cm |
Dessie | 80 cm |
Layla | 110 cm |
Carley | 105 cm |
Bilal | 96 cm |
Which of the children can see over the wall?
Remember the wall is 1 metre or 100 cm high. Look through the table above to see whose eyes are above this measurement.
You can see that Carley and Layla have measurements for eye height greater than 100 cm, so they can see over the wall.
Top tip
Convert all lengths into the same units to make the problem easier!
- Lengths can be in mm, cm, m or km.
- Heights are a type of length measured upwards.
Activity 1
My hand is 10 cm wide.
(i) How many hand-widths fit across a desk which is 120 cm wide?
(ii) How many hand-widths fit up a doorway which is 2 m high?
Activity 2
Practise solving problems involving length and height.
Try your best to answer all of the questions.
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