Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v5 - Grade 4
Measurement: length, mass and capacity (Grade 4) – Week 2 focus
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Measurement: length, mass and capacity (Grade 4) – Week 2 focus
Download the Lessonotes Mobile South Africa app for faster lesson access on Android and iPhone.
Subject: Mathematics
Class: Grade 4
Term: 3rd Term
Week: 2
Theme: General lesson support
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This week, we continue our journey into the world of measurement, focusing on length, mass, and capacity. Understanding these concepts is vital for everyday life in South Africa, from knowing how much sugar to buy for your mom's koeksisters, to figuring out if a new wardrobe will fit in your room, or how much juice to prepare for your family. This knowledge empowers us to make informed decisions and solve practical problems. We will build upon the knowledge from Week 1 by using standard units of measurement for these three properties.
Length Length measures how long something is. We use meters (m) and centimeters (cm) for shorter lengths, and kilometers (km) for longer distances.
Meter (m): A meter is about the length of a guitar. Imagine stretching your arms out wide – that's close to a meter!
Centimeter (cm): A centimeter is much smaller. It's about the width of your little finger. There are 100 centimeters in 1 meter (1 m = 100 cm).
Kilometer (km): A kilometer is a long distance. It's about how far you can walk in 15 minutes. There are 1000 meters in 1 kilometer (1 km = 1000 m).
How to measure length: Use a ruler or a measuring tape. Make sure the '0' mark lines up with the beginning of the object you are measuring. Read the number where the object ends. Remember to include the unit (cm, m, or km).
Example 1: Imagine you are measuring the length of your desk. You use a meter stick and find it's 1 meter and 25 centimeters long. You can write this as 1 m 25 cm, or convert the 1m to centimeters: 100cm + 25cm = 125cm. So, the desk is 125 cm long.
Example 2: You want to know how far it is from your house to the local spaza shop. The distance is 2 kilometers. That's 2 x 1000 = 2000 meters. Mass Mass measures how heavy something is. We use kilograms (kg) for heavier objects and grams (g) for lighter objects.
Kilogram (kg): A kilogram is about the mass of a large bag of sugar.
Gram (g): A gram is very light. A paperclip weighs about 1 gram. There are 1000 grams in 1 kilogram (1 kg = 1000 g).
How to measure mass: Use a scale. Place the object on the scale and read the number. Remember to include the unit (g or kg).
Example 1: You are weighing a bag of potatoes. The scale shows 5 kg. That means the bag of potatoes has a mass of 5 kilograms.
Example 2: Your mom is baking cookies and needs 250 grams of flour. She looks for the flour and uses a kitchen scale to measure 250g. If the whole bag is 1kg, that means there are 1000g. When she takes 250g out, there are now 1000g - 250g = 750g of flour left in the bag. Capacity Capacity measures how much a container can hold. We use liters (L) for larger amounts and milliliters (mL) for smaller amounts.
Liter (L): A liter is about the size of a large bottle of cool drink.
Milliliter (mL): A milliliter is a very small amount. A teaspoon holds about 5 milliliters. There are 1000 milliliters in 1 liter (1 L = 1000 mL).
How to measure capacity: Use a measuring jug or a measuring spoon. Pour the liquid into the container and read the number. Remember to include the unit (mL or L).
Example 1: You are measuring juice for your family. You use a measuring jug and pour in 2 liters of juice. That means the jug contains 2 liters of juice.
Example 2: You are taking medicine. The instructions say to take 5 mL of medicine. You use a measuring spoon to measure 5 milliliters. If the whole bottle holds 100mL, that means after taking your dose, there are now 100mL - 5mL = 95mL of medicine left. Guided Practice (With Solutions)
Question 1: A piece of rope is 2 meters long. How many centimeters long is it?
Solution: We know that 1 meter = 100 centimeters.
Therefore, 2 meters = 2 x 100 centimeters = 200 centimeters.
Answer: The rope is 200 centimeters long.
Question 2: A bag of mielie meal weighs 2 kilograms. How many grams does it weigh?
Solution: We know that 1 kilogram = 1000 grams.
Therefore, 2 kilograms = 2 x 1000 grams = 2000 grams.
Answer: The mielie meal weighs 2000 grams.
Question 3: A bottle of water contains 1.5 liters. How many milliliters does it contain?
Solution: We know that 1 liter = 1000 milliliters.
Therefore, 1.5 liters = 1.5 x 1000 milliliters = 1500 milliliters.
Answer: The bottle contains 1500 milliliters of water.
Question 4: Sipho's pencil is 15 cm long, and Thandi's pencil is 12 cm long. What is the difference in their lengths?
Solution: To find the difference, we subtract the smaller length from the larger length. 15 cm - 12 cm = 3 cm Answer: The difference in their lengths is 3 cm. Independent Practice (Questions Only) Convert 3 meters to centimeters. Convert 4 kilograms to grams. Convert 2.5 liters to milliliters. A table is 1 meter and 50 centimeters long. How long is the table in centimeters? A bag of oranges weighs 1.2 kilograms. How many grams does it weigh? A jug contains 800 milliliters of milk. How many more milliliters are needed to make it 1 liter? A fence is 5 km long. How many meters long is the fence? Grandma needs 500g of sugar for her malva pudding. She only has 350g. How many more grams of sugar does she need? A swimming pool holds 5000 liters of water. How many milliliters is this? Sarah walked 3000 meters to school. How many kilometers did she walk?