Measuring Length

Joyful Mathematics 2 — Playing with Lines / How Do We Reach School?. Measuring with cm and m connects to line lengths in Playing with Lines and distance ideas in How Do We Reach School?

• To compare lengths using longer/shorter/taller.
• Non-standard units (handspan, footstep) vs metre (m) and centimetre (cm).
• That 1 m = 100 cm (intro level for Class 2).

Verbal: Use centimetres (cm) for small things like pencils; use metres (m) for rooms and doors.

Symbolic: 1 m = 100 cm. Compare: 22 cm > 15 cm. Difference: 22 − 15 = 7 cm.

Level 1 — Compare directly

Place two pencils side by side — one ends further → longer.

Level 1 — Standard units

Level 1 — Metre scale

A scale marked 0 to 100 cm is 1 metre long.

Level 2 — Choosing a unit

Don't measure a cricket field in cm — use metres.

Level 2 — India

Cloth sold by the metre at the market; height measured in cm.

A ribbon is 15 cm long. Another is 22 cm. Which is longer and by how much?

Step 1 — Compare: 22 cm > 15 cm
Step 2 — Difference: 22 − 15 = 7
Answer: Second ribbon is longer by 7 cm

• Name a object you measure in cm.
• Which is longer: 1 m rod or 80 cm rod?
• Door height ~2 m or 2 cm?

Stretch: Your pencil is 12 cm. Your friend's is 18 cm. How much longer is the longer pencil?

Revision tip: Measure five objects at home with a 15 cm scale — write each length with the unit (cm or m).

Open the Practice tab for graded questions on Measuring Length.