Measurement in Everyday Life
Measurement is a part of everyday life. It is an essential life skill.
Measurement is one of the most important and widely used applications of mathematics.
Children must understand the importance of measurement and be familiar with their use in everyday life. Parents can help children see the relevance of measurement in the real world by pointing out its applications as it arises in their life on a daily basis.
Various kinds of measurement are important in everyday life. Time, Money, Temperature are some of them.
Lets see some real life examples.
TIME
Time is used to talk about our daily life, our daily routines. Time management is a part of our daily routine.
Time is a sequence of events that relates to our daily life.
Following are a few examples:
School begins at 8:00 AM in the morning.
We eat breakfast between 8 Oclock and 9 Oclock in the morning.
Sarah has history at 9:45 in the morning.
The football match is at 3:30 in the afternoon.
The concert is at 7:00 in the evening.
Clocks / watches are tools that measure time.
A calendar is another way of measuring time. Its a tool to help us keep track of days of the month, days of school, birthdays, festivals, planning events, and activities.
A clock is used to measure time intervals of less than a day, and should not be confused with a calendar.
MONEY
Money is a part of our everyday life.
We use money to buy the things we need.
Using money involves using different math skills like counting, adding, and subtracting amounts of money.
For example:
When we go to a store, we need to know Math so we can get the right amount of things.
Suppose I go to a grocery store with $10.00 to buy tomatoes. 1 pound of tomatoes costs $2.00 (say). I calculate and figure out that I cant buy more than 4 pounds, because 4 pounds of tomatoes cost me 4 × $2.00 = $8.00 + I need to pay tax for this amount.
We use basic math to compute change in the grocery store. Suppose I paid $8.75 for the tomatoes then the balance due is $1.25. I expect to receive this exact change from the store cashier.
TEMPERATURE
Temperature is a measure of how hot or cold something is.
Temperature is one of the factors that characterize the state of the atmosphere.
What we wear and what we do are in response to the temperature outside.
For example:
We wear gloves and mittens in winter. We skate in winter.
We go swimming in summer.
Measurement skills have many real-world applications. Here are a few more:
#1 Measurement skills are extensively used in every kitchen, every recipe.
Cooking temperature of the oven
For many recipes, we need to count and measure ingredients.
For example, to make ˜Hot Chocolate" just for one person, we need:
2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 cup of milk, 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate……
We estimate how much each person will eat and make appropriate amount of food. To increase the number of servings we multiply all the ingredients in the recipe, and to decrease we divide.
#2 When planning a trip, we calculate the mileage (miles per gallon) using the odometer in the car, calculate the distance traveled; determine when to fill up the gas tank again…
#3 we use measurement skills when planning a garden space, measuring floor covering, painting the interior of your home. The amount of paint to be bought is directly proportional to the surface area of the walls in your home.
#4 we use measurement when sewing a dress.
#5 we choose air conditioner based on the volume of the house.
#6 we buy fruits and vegetables in a grocery store by weight. We weigh them using a balance scale.
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Im Chandrajeet, an in-house writer for iCoachMath. iCoachMath is an effective, convenient, easy-to-use online Math Program which has been used by thousands of students, teachers, and parents. iCoachMath strives to lead K-12 students to excellence in math by offering quality web-based educational solutions. iCoachMaths instructional and lesson materials are aligned to State Curriculum Standards in all 50 states (USA).
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