Select Units
Units of Length If a football field is 120 yards long (including the end zones), how many feet is that? If you are five feet tall, how many inches is that? If you ran 10 kilometers, would that be more or less than 5 miles?
Bonus Question: Length A horse’s height is measured in hands. The average height of an adult male Clydesdale is 17–19 hands. About how big do you think a hand is? a. 4 inches b. 6 inches c. 8 inches d. 12 inches
Mass and Weight If you bought two pounds of candy, how many ounces would that be? An elephant can weigh 14,000 pounds. How many U.S. tons is that? Could you eat a kilogram of butter at one sitting? A serving of a “pat” of butter is about 5 grams, enough to butter a dinner roll. How many servings are there in a kilogram of butter?
Bonus Question: Weight In England, people speak of their body weight in terms of “stones.” An 11-year-old boy might weigh 5.5 stones. About how much do you think a stone is? a. 8 pounds b. 12 pounds c. 14 pounds d. 16 pounds
Units of Time How many seconds are in a minute? How many minutes are in an hour? How many hours are in a day? How many days are in a week? How many months are in a year? How many days are in a year?
Bonus Question: Time There is a unit of time called a fortnight. You might take a vacation over the summer that is this long. How long do you think a fortnight is? a. one night b. one week c. two weeks d. 24 nights
Units of Temperature If your body temperature is 37 degrees, which system of units is being used? Which is bigger (covers a wider range of temperature), a Fahrenheit degree or a Celsius degree? How many degrees are there between the freezing and boiling points of water in the Fahrenheit scale?
Bonus Question: Temperature Scientists sometimes use the Kelvin temperature scale. What do you think is the approximate freezing point of water in Kelvins? a. –273° b. 0° c. 273° d. 100°
Units of Volume or Capacity Your mother makes a double recipe of cookies and uses two tablespoons of baking powder. How many teaspoons is that? Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. If he had a bag big enough, do you think he would be able to carry that much home? In the Little House on the Prairie series, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s father called her by the nickname “Half-pint.” How many cups are in a half pint?
Bonus Question: Volume In the United States, firewood is usually sold by the “cord.” About how much do you think a cord is? a. a full wheelbarrows b. a stack 4 feet wide by 4 feet high by 8 feet long c. as much as will fit in the bed of two pickup trucks d. an armload bundle tied with cord (string)
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