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Measure Our Weights

Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level Yellow star
  • Problem
  • Student Solutions
  • Teachers' Resources

Measure Our Weight


Here you can see a picture of someone weighing themselves:

 

What sort of things could you use to weigh yourself?
When you have found something to weigh yourself with, see what you can find out.
What is your weight in kilograms?
What is your weight in grams?
 

Why do this problem?

This problem encourages pupils to find ways of measuring their weights and to consider appropriate units.

Possible approach

Talk to the children about measuring their weight, to find out what experiences they have had.  Ask them to suggest what they would use to help them find out how heavy they are.

Give them time to use one or more pieces of equipment to find out their weight and ask them to record the results.

In the plenary, you could share some examples of different ways of recording weights which you have observed (in terms of the units used), for example grams vs kilograms and grams vs kilograms written in decimal form.  You could invite children to explain the different forms and discuss how to convert between them.
 

Key questions

How did you do the measuring?
Are there other ways to write this weight?
 

Possible extension

It may be appropriate to ask learners whether they have heard of other units associated with weight.  This could lead into an exploration of stone, pounds and ounces.
 

Possible support

Learners may need help reading scales on the various pieces of equipment they are using.
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The NRICH Project aims to enrich the mathematical experiences of all learners. To support this aim, members of the NRICH team work in a wide range of capacities, including providing professional development for teachers wishing to embed rich mathematical tasks into everyday classroom practice.

NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.

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