MathsFreePrintable

Measuring Height and Distance

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 Height and Distance

Aotearoa’s outdoor education team is planning a walking track and checking equipment. Use sensible units, show your working, and include units in every measurement answer. You can use a calculator.

Units and estimates

Choose units that suit the size of the measurement. Consider millimetres (mm), centimetres (cm), metres (m) and kilometres (km).

1.The team measures the thickness of a laminated track map. Which unit is most appropriate: mm, cm, m or km?

Millimetres (mm)
Centimetres (cm)
Metres (m)
Kilometres (km)

2.A path is 1.85 km long. Convert this distance to metres.

3.A signpost is 2.4 m tall. Convert its height to centimetres, then to millimetres.

Measuring height and distance

Use these field notes for the next questions: a young kānuka tree casts a 3.6 m shadow. At the same time, a 1.5 m measuring pole casts a 0.9 m shadow. Assume the ground is level and the sun’s rays are parallel.

4.Estimate the tree’s height before calculating: is it likely to be about 3 m, 6 m or 9 m? Explain briefly using the shadow lengths.

5.Calculate the tree’s height using the two similar triangles. Show the proportion or calculation and include a unit.

6.The track team walks 640 m from the car park to a lookout, then 1.25 km from the lookout to a campsite. What is the total distance in metres and in kilometres?

7.A surveyor’s wheel records 18 complete rotations. Each rotation measures 2.1 m along the ground. How far has the team travelled? Give your answer in metres and kilometres.

Check the plan

The team sketches a straight section of track using a scale of 1 cm to represent 50 m. The sketch length is 7.4 cm.

8.What real distance does the 7.4 cm sketch line represent? Give your answer in metres and kilometres.

9.On a map with a scale of 1 : 25,000, the measured distance between two points is 3.2 cm. What is the real distance between them in metres?

10.The team records a stream crossing as 0.086 km. Convert this measurement to metres and centimetres.

11.Kai estimates that a 12 m gap is 120 cm. Identify the unit-conversion mistake and state the correct conversion of 12 m into centimetres.

12.A track marker is 850 m from the start. Place it on the number line, then write its distance in kilometres.

13.For a safe route plan, explain why the team should record a measured distance as 1.89 km rather than simply writing 1.89. Give one possible misunderstanding if the unit is missing.