Developing Measurement Concepts and Skills Chapter 15 Developing Measurement Concepts and Skills

What is measurement? is the process or the result of determining the ratio of a physical quantity, such as a length, time, temperature etc., to a unit of measurement, such as the meter, second or degree Celsius. The size, length, or amount of something, as established by measuring .

Perception and Direct Comparison Premeasurement- does not require a unit or a number of objects being measured Appropriate language is critical i.e. bigger, longer, heavier, hotter, covers more surface

Nonstandard Units How Big? Instead of which is bigger. Using an appropriate unit i.e. A pencil would be good for measuring how long something is, but not for measuring angles The unit should be smaller than object being measured, but not too small as time could be a factor. A paperclip may be good to measure the length of a pencil, but not the width of a classroom

Standard Units Nonstandard Units are acceptable in the classroom, but difficult to use when communicating outside the classroom In the US two systems of standard units are used Customary and metric. Understanding that miles or kilometers are an appropriate unit for distance between two cities and liters or quarts are an appropriate unit for measuring amounts of milk.

Instruments Ruler-length Meter stick-length Pan balance or scale –mass Protractor-angles Thermometer-temperature Clock –time Early on children will invent their own instruments (paper clip ruler) then graduate to using standard tools

What is wrong with this picture? Which picture correctly measures the length of the pencil? What is wrong with the other pictures?

How Big Is a Foot? By Rolf Myller http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPLkDF3O0Dg