New
New
Year 5

Understand approximate equivalence between metric and imperial units

I can understand approximate equivalence between metric and imperial units.

New
New
Year 5

Understand approximate equivalence between metric and imperial units

I can understand approximate equivalence between metric and imperial units.

warning

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. 1 inch is approximately equal to 2.5cm.
  2. 1 pound (lb) is approximately 0.5kg.
  3. 1 pint is just greater than 0.4l.

Keywords

  • Metric - Metric is a system of measuring based mainly around the decimal system.

  • Imperial - Imperial is a system of measuring which originated in England which has been replaced by the metric system in most countries.

Common misconception

Two unrelated units of measure are called 'pounds' - the money version and the mass version. Pupils may confuse one for the other.

In this lesson, the word pounds (as in mass) is used with the abbreviation lb in brackets. It is recommended that you use both of these until pupils reach a point where they can automatically read lb as pounds and and record it as such.

Task 1 in the first cycle asks pupils to complete a table, adding in examples of imperial and metric units. It is recommended that they first do this as a group using a large sheet of sugar paper and sticky notes, to promote discussion.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

Loading...

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the unit of measure with the correct type of measure.
Correct Answer:centimetre,length

length

Correct Answer:gram,mass

mass

Correct Answer:litre,capacity

capacity

Q2.
Match the unit of measure with the correct type of measure.
Correct Answer:kilometre,length

length

Correct Answer:kilogram,mass

mass

Correct Answer:millilitre,capacity

capacity

Q3.
Match the unit of measure to the correct abbreviation.
Correct Answer:millimetre,mm

mm

Correct Answer:metre,m

m

Correct Answer:litre,l

l

Correct Answer:kilogram,kg

kg

Q4.
Which of these numbers will you say if you are counting in steps of 12? Select all that apply.
Correct answer: 36
50
Correct answer: 60
Correct answer: 72
Q5.
36 + 36 =
Correct Answer: 72
Q6.
Round 91.4 cm to the nearest metre. m
Correct Answer: 1

6 Questions

Q1.
Select all of the imperial units of measure.
kilograms
Correct answer: miles
millimetres
Correct answer: inches
Correct answer: stones
Q2.
Select all of the metric units of measure.
Correct answer: grams
ounces
Correct answer: metres
Correct answer: millimetres
inches
Q3.
Match the symbols to their correct meaning
Correct Answer:=,equal to

equal to

Correct Answer:<,less than

less than

Correct Answer:>,greater than

greater than

Q4.
Join the imperial unit of measurement to the context that makes the most sense.
Correct Answer:a pint of,water

water

Correct Answer:a mile of,road

road

Correct Answer:an ounce of,cooking flour

cooking flour

Correct Answer:a yard of,string

string

Q5.
1 ounce is approximately equal to 28 g. Convert 10 ounces to grams. 10 ounces is approximately g
Correct Answer: 280
Q6.
1 foot is approximately equal to 30 cm. Convert 5 feet to centimetres. 5 feet is approximately cm
Correct Answer: 150