Page 3 - Length

5. Give two examples from everyday life where you would measure:
(a) length (b) distance (c) height
(d) width (e) depth

In all of the comparisons you made in question 1, you could only
tell which object or distance is longer. You were not able to tell
how much longer it was.

6. Which is longer, the pencil or the matchstick?

It is quite easy to see that the pencil is longer than the matchstick.
However, we need another way to compare them if we want to be
more exact.
Themba says: “The pencil is 4 times as long as the matchstick.”

7. (a) Is Themba correct?

(b) How can you find out if Themba is correct, without using a
ruler?

(c) How can you find out if Themba is correct by using a ruler?

Themba did this:

Matchsticks are used above to measure the length of the pencil.
We say that the matchstick is the unit of measurement.
However, not all people will use a matchstick as a unit of
measurement, or some people’s matchsticks may be shorter
or longer than others. This means that different people will
get different measurements for the same object. So we need a
standard unit of measurement, which is a unit that everyone can
use and that is always the same length.

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