Learn to Fix What Kids Don’t Know About Measurement Topics
April 2012
Curriculum Research Committee
Measurement Assessment for Grade 6
The diagrams in this assessment are not drawn to scale.
Include appropriate units with every answer on this
assessment.
1. Which is the best estimate for the area of the floor of a typical
classroom for 25 students? Show or explain your answer.
a) 700 feet b) 700 square feet c) 700 cubic feet
d) 700 yards e) 700 square yards
Answer:62.5% ; Explanation: 12%
2. a. What is the area of the playground below? Show or explain your
answer.
Answer:12% ; Units: 33% ; Explanation: 26%
b. What is the perimeter of the playground? Show or explain your
answer.
Answer:15% ; Units: 50% ; Explanation: 40%
c. One bag of grass seed covers 500 square feet. How many bags of
grass seed must you buy to cover the playground? Show or explain
your answer.
Answer:10% ; Units: 50% ; Explanation: 29%
Playground
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Carol Findell
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Learn to Fix What Kids Don’t Know About Measurement Topics
April 2012
3. The base of a rectangle is 16 cm. The perimeter of the rectangle is 40
cm. What is the area of the rectangle? Show or explain your answer.
Answer:24% ; Units: 20% ; Explanation: 23%
4 The figure below is made up of five congruent squares.
The perimeter of the figure is 120 cm.
What is the area of the figure in sq. cm?
Show or explain your answer.
a) 5 sq cm b) 50 sq cm c) 24 sq cm d) 500 sq cm e) 600 sq cm
Answer:24% ; Units: 22% ; Explanation: 33%
5. Jo has three squares. Each square has side length 4 inches.
Ana has one square with side length 1 foot.
a) Compute the sum of the areas of Jo’s squares. Show or explain
your answer.
Answer:31% ; Units: 21% ; Explanation: 32%
b) Compute the area of Ana’s square. Show or explain your answer.
Answer: 33% ; Units: 21% ; Explanation: 25%
c) Which is larger? Show or explain your answer.
Answer:27%; Explanation: 10%
6. A square contains two smaller squares, A and B, with areas of 16
square meters and 9 square meters as shown. What is the number of
meters in the perimeter of the shaded region? Show or explain your
answer.
Answer:4% ; Units: 16% ;
Explanation: 7%
A
B
Over 900 6th grade students tested.
Mean score: 9.2/38; Median 7/38
Mean score on units: 0.3/8
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NCTM National, Philadelphia, PA
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Carol Findell
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Learn to Fix What Kids Don’t Know About Measurement Topics
April 2012
Units and Dimensional Analysis
Length is measured in units: inches, feet, yards, miles, meters, etc.
Area is measured in square units: square inches, square feet,
square yards, square miles, etc
Volume is measured in cubic units: cubic inches, cubic feet, cubic
yards, etc
1. There are 3 feet in one yard.
1 foot
1 yard = 3 feet
How many square feet in a square yard?
1 square foot
1 square yard or 9 square feet
How many cubic feet in a cubic yard?
1 cubic foot
1 cubic yard or 27 cubic feet
2. If there are 12 inches in one foot, how many square inches in a
square foot; how many cubic inches in a cubic foot?
3. I have a box with dimensions L, W, and H. My friend has a box with
dimensions two times as big as my box. I filled my box with sand,
wrapped it in paper, and tied it with string. How many times as
much sand, paper, and string will be needed for my friend’s box?
Justify your answers.
Sand:
Paper:
String:
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Carol Findell
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Learn to Fix What Kids Don’t Know About Measurement Topics
April 2012
Perimeter Problems (Problem source: MOEMS)
7m
1. What is the perimeter in meters of the figure shown?
All angles are right angles.
2. ABCD is a square. DEFG is a rectangle.
6m
3m
5m
B
A
The length of EF is 25 cm. D is the
G
midpoint of CE. The perimeter of the
F
25
cm
entire shaded region is 180 cm.
Find the length of AG, in cm.
D
C
E
3. Lee walks along the edges of a
A
rectangular pool (shown) from point A
B
to B to C to D, a distance of 38 meters.
Marina walks along the edges of the
C
D
same pool from B to C to D to A, a
distance of 31 meters. What is the
perimeter of the pool, in meters?
4. The figure is made up of five congruent squares.
The perimeter of the figure is 72 inches.
Find the area of the figure, in sq cm?
5. A rectangle has a perimeter of 90 cm. The length of the rectangle is
25 cm more than its width. Find the area of the rectangle, in sq cm.
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Carol Findell
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Learn to Fix What Kids Don’t Know About Measurement Topics
April 2012
Area Problems (Problem source: MOEMS)
A
B
1. Square ABCD is composed of nine congruent squares
as shown. The area of the shaded region is 14 square
centimeters. What is the area of square ABCD, in sq cm?
C
D
2 The area of the rectangle is 36 sq cm. The lengths of the sides are
whole numbers of centimeters. What is the greatest perimeter of the
rectangle can have, in cm?
7
3. As shown, the length of each segment
3
5
in the overlapping rectangles is given,
6
in cm. Find the sum of the areas of the
8
shaded regions, in sq cm.
10
4 A rectangle is divided up into four
smaller rectangles. The length of
A
C
6 sq cm
10 sq cm
each segment is a whole number of
9 sq cm
cm. the areas of three of the
rectangles are given in the diagram.
G
E
Find the number of sq cm in the total
area of rectangle ACEG.
5. A rectangle has a perimeter of 90 cm. The length of the rectangle is
25 cm more than its width. Find the area of the rectangle, in sq cm.
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Carol Findell
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