Success Homeschool

Year 2 Mathematics · Measuring length with informal units

Name: ______________________

Date: ____________

1. A pencil is 6 paperclips long. A crayon is 4 paperclips long. Which is longer?
- ☐ (a) the crayon
- ☐ (b) the pencil
- ☐ (c) they are the same length
2. A spoon is 5 blocks long. A fork is 3 blocks long. How many blocks longer is the spoon?
3. Why should there be no gaps between paperclips when you measure?
- ☐ (a) Gaps make the paperclips fall off the table
- ☐ (b) Gaps make you count too few paperclips
- ☐ (c) Gaps make the object grow longer
4. A book is 7 hand spans long. A table is 12 hand spans long. Which is longer, the book or the table?
5. Which unit would be best for measuring the length of a hallway?
- ☐ (a) paperclips
- ☐ (b) footsteps
- ☐ (c) grains of rice
6. Sam measures a ribbon with big blocks and gets 4. Mia measures the same ribbon with small blocks. What will Mia get?
- ☐ (a) fewer than 4
- ☐ (b) exactly 4
- ☐ (c) more than 4
7. A scarf is 15 blocks long. A sock is 8 blocks long. How many blocks longer is the scarf?
8. A toy worm is 3 pegs long, a toy snake is 10 pegs long and a ribbon is 6 pegs long. Which is the shortest?
- ☐ (a) the ribbon
- ☐ (b) the toy snake
- ☐ (c) the toy worm

Answer sheet

1. the pencil — 6 paperclips is more than 4 paperclips, so the pencil is longer.
2. 2 — 5 − 3 = 2, so the spoon is 2 blocks longer.
3. Gaps make you count too few paperclips — Gaps leave parts of the object unmeasured, so the count is too small.
4. table — 12 hand spans is more than 7 hand spans, so the table is longer.
5. footsteps — A hallway is long, so a bigger unit like footsteps is quicker and easier.
6. more than 4 — Smaller units mean more of them are needed to cover the same length.
7. 7 — Count on from 8 to 15: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. That is 7 blocks, so 15 − 8 = 7.
8. the toy worm — 3 is the smallest number of pegs, so the toy worm is the shortest.