MathsFreePrintable

Measuring Fun Without Tools

A free maths worksheet ready for your classroom. Open in Kuraplan to grab the print-ready PDF, customize it for your students, or generate a fresh version in seconds.

Download now

Name:Date:

Measuring Fun Without Tools

Help the Kiwi campers compare lengths, mass and capacity using everyday units. Read each measurement carefully. When you measure with hand spans, footsteps or cups, keep each unit the same size.

Length explorers

The campers measured the same objects using equal-sized hand spans. Their results are shown below.

Object

Hand spans long

Measurement

Sleeping mat

long

Backpack

long

Torch

long

1.Which object is the longest in the camp equipment table? Write its name and measurement.

2.How many more hand spans long is the sleeping mat than the backpack?

3.Put these objects in order from shortest to longest: torch, sleeping mat, backpack.

4.True or false? The backpack is longer than the torch.

TrueFalse

Capacity and mass

The campers use the same small cup each time they measure water. They also compare how heavy their gear feels when lifted.

5.A bottle holds 4 small cups of water. A jug holds 7 small cups. Which holds more, and by how many cups?

6.Choose the best word for each item: a full water bottle is usually heavier or lighter than an empty one?

Heavier
Lighter

7.A feather and a rock are on the ground. Which is usually lighter?

The feather
The rock

Think like a measurer

Good measurers use equal-sized units and line them up with no gaps or overlaps.

8.Maia measures a table with hand spans. What should she do to make her measurement fair and easy to compare?

Use the same hand span each time and place spans end to end
Use a different-sized hand span each time
Leave a gap between every hand span

9.A table is 8 footsteps long. Ngaio takes bigger steps than Maia. Would Ngaio probably count more or fewer footsteps to cross the same table? Explain.

10.Draw or describe how you could measure the length of a book without a ruler. Name the unit you would use and explain how you would keep the measurement fair.