Unit 3: Measurement

Topic 1: Length and Time

Time Allotment: 3 hours

Learning Objectives
Upon the completion of this topic, you are expected to:
 Convert units of measure of length and time from smaller to larger and
vice versa;
 Compute for the exact amount of time between two given times; and
 Solve word problems involving unit of measure of length and time.

Presentation of Content
Measurement
Suppose you are asked to measure the length of a classroom, what would you
do? Maybe you would walk from one end of the room to the other end and
count the number of your steps. The other possibility is that you may use any
straight edge, or a measuring tape or a meter scale. Then again go from one
end and count how many times the meter scale was used to reach the other
end. Let us take another example, suppose you want to determine whether you
had an increase /decrease of weight for this lockdown period. You would use a
weighing scale and see how many kilograms did you gain or lose- again a kind
of counting. Thus, we may define measurement to be a counting of the number
of times a chosen scale is used.

Measurement is the act of determining a target’s weight, length, capacity, size,

or other physical dimensions. Our measurement can either be accurate or
simply an estimate or approximation.

Accurate Measurement
How can we measure things accurately?
When measuring the length of objects, we
get an accurate measure by using
measuring tools such as ruler, a meter
stick or a measuring tape etc……

We use various units of

measurement such as meter,
kilometer, mile, or inch.

We select the units based on how we

need the measurements to be.

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Estimating Length
Sometimes, we need to estimate the length of an object. How do we estimate?

Estimation is often considered as method of

problem solving when we can only get
approximate measures because we do not
have tools for accurate measurement or when
would find it difficult to measure something.

Estimate is your best guess of

measurement such as the length, width
and height of an object.

To help estimate measurement, we

sometimes use mathematical benchmark
such as a Peso bill or the length of your
foot.

Why do we measure?
There are various reasons why people need to measure such as to help
describe the things around us and for comparison.

I am 4 feet tall.

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 Unit 3: Measurement

Units of Measurement
Let’s suppose I’m making curtains for a friend ‘s windows. I ask her to measure
the window and give me the dimensions so that I can make the curtains the right
size. My friend tells me that her windows are 50 by 60, so that’s how big I make
the curtains. When I go over to her house, it turns out that my curtains are more
than twice as big as her windows! My friend tells me that she’s certain she
measured the windows correctly, and I tell my friend that I’m certain I measured
the curtains correctly. How can this be? The answer is quite simple. My friend
measured the windows in centimeters. I, on the other hand, measured the
curtains in inches. Our problem was not caused by one of us measuring
incorrectly. Instead, our problem was the result of measuring with different units
When we are making measurements, the units we use are just as important as
the numbers that we get. If my friend had told me that her windows were 50
centimeters by 60 centimeters, then there would have been no problem. I would
have known exactly how big to make the curtains. Since she failed to do this,
the numbers that she gave me (50 by 60) were essentially useless. Please note
that a failure to indicate the units involved in measurements can lead to serious
problems. In science, numbers mean nothing unless there are units attached to
them. There are two systems of measuring things—English and Metric. English
measurements are used only in the United States, while metric measurements
are used in nearly every other country. Measurements are used to give number
values to distance (length, width, and height), weight, time, volume (liquid
measurements), and temperature.

To get you used to these measurements, here is a list of commonly used English
and metric measurements, and their equivalents

Length
Length describes how long a thing is from one end to the other.
US Standard Unit
Metric Unit
(English Unit or Customary Unit)

Millimeter (mm) Inch (in):

Used to measure very short lengths Used to measure the length of small
or thicknesses. objects.
Example, length of a pencil tip. Example: Length of a bed.

Centimeter (cm): Foot (ft):

Used to measure small lengths. Used to measure short distances and
Example: Length of a pencil. heights.
Example: Heights of buildings.
Meter (m):
Used to measure big lengths. Yard (yd):
Example: Length of a classroom. It is bigger than a foot.
Example: Length of a football field.

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 Unit 3: Measurement

Kilometer (km): Mile (mi):

Used to measure very long lengths Used to measure long distances.
or distance

Conversion
There are times when we are required to convert a measurement to another
unit. The following table will serve as your guide in the process.
ENGLISH SYSTEM TO METRIC SYSTEM TO
METRIC SYSTEM ENGLISH SYSTEM
When You Multip When You Multiply
To Find To Find
Know ly By Know By
inches 25.4 millimeters millimeters 0.04 inches
2.54 centimeters centimeters 0.39 inches
feet 30.48 centimeters meters 3.28 feet
yards 0.91 meters 1.09 yards
miles 1.61 kilometers kilometers 0.62 miles
square square cubic
6.45 35.31 cubic feet
inches centimeters meters
square feet 0.09 square meters 1.35 cubic yards
square square square
0.84 square meters 0.155
yards centimeters inches
square square square
2.59 1.2 square yards
miles kilometers meters
square
acres 0.4 hectares 0.39 square miles
kilometers
hectares 2.47 acres

1cm= 10mm 1foot = 12 inches

100cm=1m 1yard= 3 feet = 36 inches

1000m=1km 1 mile = 5280 feet = 1760 yards

Note : To convert from one unit to another, the rules are:

From bigger to smaller unit - Multiply
From smaller to bigger unit - Divide

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Prefixes
A multiple of a unit in the International System is formed by adding a prefix to the
name of that unit. The prefixes change the magnitude of the unit by orders of ten
from 1024 to 10-24.
Prefix Symbol Multiplying Factor
yotta- Y 1024 = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
21
zetta- Z 10 = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
exa- E 1018 = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000
peta- P 1015 = 1,000,000,000,000,000
tera- T 1012 = 1,000,000,000,000
giga- G 109 = 1,000,000,000
mega- M 106 = 1,000,000
kilo- k 103 = 1,000
hecto- h 102 = 100
deca- da 10 = 10

Prefix Symbol Multiplying Factor

deci- d 10-1 = 0.1
centi- c 10-2 = 0.01
milli- m 10-3 = 0.001
micro- µ 10-6 = 0.000,001
nano- n 10-9 = 0.000,000,001
-12
pico- p 10 = 0.000,000,000,001
femto- f 10-15 = 0.000,000,000,000,001
atto- a 10-18 = 0.000,000,000,000,000,001
zepto- z 10-21 = 0.000,000,000,000,000,000,001
yocto- y 10-24 = 0.000,000,000,000,000,000,000,001

Let us now have examples

Example 1. Convert 7,225 centimeters to meters.

7,225 cm = ___ m Meters is larger than

centimeters, so you expect your
answer to be less than 7,225.
Using the factor label method,
write 7,225 cm as a fraction and
use unit fractions to convert it to
m.

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Cancel similar units, multiply,

and simplify.

Answer 7,225 centimeters = 72.25 meters

Example 2. Convert 2.5 miles to inches.

2.5 miles = 2.5 miles (5280 feet/mile)(12 inches/feet) = 158,400 inches

Example 3. Convert 100,000 inches to miles

100,000 inches = 100,000 in (1 ft/12 in)(1mile/ 5280 ft) = 1.58 miles

Example 4. Convert 35 miles to kilometers

35 miles = 35 miles x 1.61 km/mile = 56.36 kilometers

Example 5. Nine inches of ribbons are needed for wrapping each present. How
many presents can be wrapped with 6 yards of ribbons?
6 yards x 36 inches/1 yard = 216 inches ,
216 ÷ 9 = 24
(24 presents can be wrapped with 6 yards of ribbons.)

Example 6. Ashley's teacher asked her to bring 3 pieces of yarn, each no shorter
than 0.8 m, for an art project. Ashley found a piece of old yarn at home that is
280 cm long. Does she have enough yarn to bring to school?
1. 3 x 0.8 m = 2.4 m x 100cm/1m = 240 cm
Ashley needs at least 240 cm of yarn. She has enough yarn to bring to school.

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Time
The ongoing sequence of events is time.
Time Conversions
1. 60 seconds = 1 minute
2. 60 minutes = 1 hour
3. 24 hours = 1 day
4. 7 days = 1 week
5. 12 months = 1 year
6. 52 weeks = 1 year
7. 365 days = 1 year (366 for leap years)
8. 10 years = 1 decade
9. 100 years = 1 century
10. 1000 years = 1 millennium

Let us also convert using time!

(i) 7 days 6 hours into hours.

Solution
1 day = 24 hours , Therefore, 7 days 6 hours = (7 x 24) hours + 6
hours
= 168 hours + 6 hours = 174 hours

(ii) 6 hours 40 minutes into minutes.

Solution
1 hour = 60 minutes, Therefore, 6 hours + 40 minutes = (6 x 60)
minutes + 40 minutes
= (360 + 40) minutes = 400 minutes
(iii) 4 minutes 25 seconds into seconds.
Solution:
1 minute = 60 seconds, Therefore, 4 minutes 25 seconds = (4 x 60)
seconds + 25 seconds
= (240 + 25) seconds = 265 seconds
(iv) 800 hours into days and hours.
Solution:
24 hours = 1 day Therefore, 800 hours = 800 ÷ 24 days = 33 days 8
hours

(v) Roger started doing his project at 5:40 PM and finished it at 7:45 PM .
How long did he do his project?
Solution:
To find the time spent for the project, use the formula below:
Amount of time spent = Time finished – time started
hour minute
Time finished 7 45
Time started 5 40__
2 5
The amount of time spent during the project is 2hrs and 5 minutes.