Length: Feet, Inches, and Yards
Measuring and comparing customary units of length
Length: Feet, Inches, and Yards
Measuring and comparing customary units of length
Math - Grade 2-3
- 1
A pencil is 7 inches long. Is inches, feet, or yards the best unit to measure the pencil? Explain your choice.
Think about which unit is smallest.
Inches are the best unit because a pencil is a small object, and inches are used to measure short lengths. - 2
There are 12 inches in 1 foot. How many inches are in 2 feet?
There are 24 inches in 2 feet because 12 + 12 = 24. - 3
A jump rope is 3 yards long. How many feet long is the jump rope?
Multiply the number of yards by 3.
The jump rope is 9 feet long because 1 yard equals 3 feet, and 3 x 3 = 9. - 4
Circle the longer length: 10 inches or 1 foot. Explain how you know.
1 foot is longer because 1 foot equals 12 inches, and 12 inches is greater than 10 inches. - 5
A ribbon is 18 inches long. How many feet and inches long is the ribbon?
Take away 12 inches to make 1 foot, then see what is left.
The ribbon is 1 foot 6 inches long because 18 inches = 12 inches + 6 inches. - 6
Choose the best unit to measure the length of a classroom: inches, feet, or yards. Explain your choice.
A classroom is much longer than a pencil or a book.
Feet or yards would be good units because a classroom is long. Inches would be too small for measuring a whole classroom. - 7
A board is 5 feet long. How many inches long is the board?
The board is 60 inches long because 5 x 12 = 60. - 8
Look at a line that starts at 0 inches and ends at 4 inches on a ruler. What is the length of the line?
When a line starts at 0, the ending number tells the length.
The line is 4 inches long because it starts at 0 and ends at 4 on the ruler. - 9
Which is shorter: 2 yards or 7 feet? Explain how you know.
2 yards is shorter because 2 yards equals 6 feet, and 6 feet is less than 7 feet. - 10
Maria has a string that is 1 foot long and another string that is 8 inches long. What is the total length in inches?
Change the foot to inches before adding.
The total length is 20 inches because 1 foot equals 12 inches, and 12 + 8 = 20. - 11
A doorway is about 7 feet tall. Is this length closer to 7 inches, 7 feet, or 7 yards? Explain your answer.
The doorway is closer to 7 feet because doors are taller than a few inches but not usually as tall as 7 yards. - 12
Fill in the blank: 4 yards = _____ feet.
Each yard is the same as 3 feet.
4 yards equals 12 feet because each yard has 3 feet, and 4 x 3 = 12. - 13
A toy car travels 30 inches. Did it travel more than 2 feet? Explain how you know.
Yes, it traveled more than 2 feet because 2 feet equals 24 inches, and 30 inches is greater than 24 inches. - 14
A garden path is 6 yards long. A sidewalk is 15 feet long. Which is longer, the garden path or the sidewalk?
Change yards to feet so both lengths use the same unit.
The garden path is longer because 6 yards equals 18 feet, and 18 feet is greater than 15 feet. - 15
Sam measures a book and says it is about 9 yards long. Is this reasonable? Explain your answer and choose a better unit.
Think about whether a book is small enough to hold in your hands.
No, this is not reasonable because 9 yards is much too long for a book. A better unit for a book is inches.