Measurement Lab Instructor Notes

Measurement Lab Instructor Notes

Course Level/Topic: prealgebra /measurement

Materials:

ometric and English measuring tools

ofive small items to measure in centimeters and inches (calculators, books, pens, etc.)

ofive large items to measure in yards and meters (a table both width and length, the room dimensions, the chalkboard, etc.)

Time Required: 45 minutes

Brief Description: By accurately measuring the length of five different objects in both metric and English unit, students will develop their own conversion factors.

General Notes:

oStudent may need to have directions on how to accurately measure.

oA review of factions may be needed so that they can accurately measure 1 yard 15 inches and 1 15/36 yards or 1 5/12 yards.

Follow Up/ Discussion Questions:

There are several cases of projects which involve collaboration among both American and European scientists in which errors have occurred due to the use of different units.

For five small items measure them to the nearest tenth of a centimeter and to the nearest sixteenth of an inch. Find the ratios of centimeter to inches and inches to centimeter for each item and then convert the fractions to decimals and round to the nearest hundredth. Average the ratios to obtain the most accurate conversion factor.

ITEM / CENTI-METER / INCHES / RATIO cm/in / DECIMAL / RATIO in/cm / DECIMAL
Average:

Conversion factor for centimeters to inches

Conversion factor for inches to centimeters

______1. Using your conversion factor, how long is a 3 ½ inch nail in centimeters?

______2. What are the dimensions of a 10.5cm by 15.2 cm picture in inches using your conversion factor?

For five large items measure them in meters to the nearest hundredth of a meter (centimeter) and in yards to the nearest thirty-sixth of a yard (inch). Find the ratios of meters to yards and yards to meters for each item and then convert the fractions to decimals and round to the nearest hundredth. Average the ratios to obtain the most accurate conversion factor.

ITEM / CENTI-METER / INCHES / RATIO m to yd / DECIMAL / RATIO
yd to m / DECIMAL
Average:

Conversion factor for meters to yards

Conversion factor for yards to meters

1. Using your conversion factor, how long is a 100 yard football field in meters?

2. Using your conversion factor, how long is the 400 meter dash in yards?

Follow – up questions: Look up the actual conversion factors either on-line or in a textbook.

1. How close are your values to those you found?

2. If they differ, why do you think this is the case?

3. Calculate those measurement you found using your conversion factor with the actual conversion factor.

4. Are the differences significant?