Geometry and Measurement

Made to
Measure
Geometry and
Measurement
Mathematics in Context is a comprehensive curriculum for the middle grades.
It was developed in 1991 through 1997 in collaboration with the Wisconsin Center
for Education Research, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison and
the Freudenthal Institute at the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, with the
support of the National Science Foundation Grant No. 9054928.
The revision of the curriculum was carried out in 2003 through 2005, with the
support of the National Science Foundation Grant No. ESI 0137414.
National Science Foundation

Opinions expressed are those of the authors
and not necessarily those of the Foundation.
de Lange, J., Wijers, M., Dekker, T., Simon, A. N., Shafer, M. C., and Pligge, M. A.
(2006). Made to measure. In Wisconsin Center for Education Research &
Freudenthal Institute (Eds.), Mathematics in context. Chicago: Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc.
Copyright © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
All rights reserved.

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ISBN 0-03-042404-6
1 2 3 4 5 6 073 09 08 07 06 05
The Mathematics in Context Development Team
Development 1991–1997
The initial version of Made to Measure was developed by Anton Roodhardt and Jan Auke de Jong.
It was adapted for use in American schools by Laura J. Brinker, James A. Middleton, and Aaron N. Simon.
Wisconsin Center for Education Freudenthal Institute Staff

Research Staff
Thomas A. Romberg Joan Daniels Pedro Jan de Lange
Director Assistant to the Director Director
Gail Burrill Margaret R. Meyer Els Feijs Martin van Reeuwijk
Coordinator Coordinator Coordinator Coordinator
Project Staff
Jonathan Brendefur Sherian Foster Mieke Abels Jansie Niehaus
Laura Brinker James A, Middleton Nina Boswinkel Nanda Querelle
James Browne Jasmina Milinkovic Frans van Galen Anton Roodhardt
Jack Burrill Margaret A. Pligge Koeno Gravemeijer Leen Streefland
Rose Byrd Mary C. Shafer Marja van den Adri Treffers
Peter Christiansen Julia A. Shew Heuvel-Panhuizen Monica Wijers
Barbara Clarke Aaron N. Simon Jan Auke de Jong Astrid de Wild
Doug Clarke Marvin Smith Vincent Jonker
Beth R. Cole Stephanie Z. Smith Ronald Keijzer
Fae Dremock Mary S. Spence Martin Kindt
Mary Ann Fix
Revision 2003–2005
The revised version of Made to Measure was developed Mieke Abels and Jan de Lange.
It was adapted for use in American Schools by Margaret A. Pligge.
Wisconsin Center for Education Freudenthal Institute Staff

Research Staff
Thomas A. Romberg David C. Webb Jan de Lange Truus Dekker
Director Coordinator Director Coordinator
Gail Burrill Margaret A. Pligge Mieke Abels Monica Wijers
Editorial Coordinator Editorial Coordinator Content Coordinator Content Coordinator
Project Staff
Sarah Ailts Margaret R. Meyer Arthur Bakker Nathalie Kuijpers
Beth R. Cole Anne Park Peter Boon Huub Nilwik
Erin Hazlett Bryna Rappaport Els Feijs Sonia Palha
Teri Hedges Kathleen A. Steele Dédé de Haan Nanda Querelle
Karen Hoiberg Ana C. Stephens Martin Kindt Martin van Reeuwijk
Carrie Johnson Candace Ulmer
Jean Krusi Jill Vettrus
Elaine McGrath
(c) 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Mathematics in Context
and the Mathematics in Context Logo are registered trademarks
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Cover photo credits: (left) © Getty Images; (middle) © Kaz Chiba/PhotoDisc/

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Contents
Letter to the Student vi
Section A Lengths
Introduction 1
Historical Measures 2
Feet and Shoes 6
Body Length and Fathom 8
Other Measures for Length 9
Summary 10
Check Your Work 11
Section B Areas
A Body’s Surface Area 12
Squares 13
Hands and Body 15
Surface Area by Formula 17
Height, Weight, and Area 18
Early Areas 19
Summary 20
Check Your Work 21
Section C Volumes
The Volume of Your Heart 22
Solids 22
Liquids 26
The Volume of Your Body 27
Other Measures for Volume 28
Summary 30
Check Your Work 30
Section D Angles
Furniture 32
Summary 38
Check Your Work 38
Additional Practice 40
Answers to Check Your Work 43
Contents v
Dear Student,
Welcome to the Mathematics in Context unit Made to Measure. This

unit is all about measuring: measuring your feet, your thumb, your
hands, and the angle made by your arm and your wrist.
You will investigate how measuring units evolved.
You will further investigate measurements for length,
area, and volume. You might be
amazed by what you can measure!
You will find that mathematics plays an

important role in measurement. Every time
you measure something, you might ask yourself:
• Will every person measuring this item get the same measurement
that I did?
• Do all of these things have the same measurement?
• What other units of measure can I use?
• Are there other ways to measure these things?
Whenever you make a measurement in this unit,

picture how big—or small or steep or short—
that measurement is. When you can do this
with all of the measurements in this unit,
you are well on your way to becoming
a mathematician!
Sincerely,
The Mathematics in Context Development Team
vi Made to Measure
A
Lengths
Introduction
People who design the objects you use every

day have thought a lot about how big or how
small those objects should be. Knowing the
sizes of people’s arms, legs, and hands can be
very useful when designing furniture, clothes,
toys, windows, doors, and many other items.
1. Which body measures would be useful to know if you were

designing the following items?
a. doors d. pants
b. school desks e. baby cribs
c. shoes f. stairs
2. For what other objects would you need to know body measures?
Section A: Lengths 1
A Lengths
Historical Measures
You probably discovered that the lengths and heights of different body
parts are important for designing many common objects. At one time,
all measurements for length were related to the human body. Some
of these units of measure include the thumb, hand span, foot, yard,
pace, and fathom.
3. Match each of the units of measure listed in the paragraph above
with its drawing below.
a.
b.
c.
d.
f.
e.
2 Made to Measure
Lengths A
4. a. Which of the units of measure from

problem 3 would you use to find the
length of the nail shown here?
b. How long is this nail in the units of measure you chose for
your answer to a ?
5. a. Measure the length of your desk by using one or more of the

units of measure from problem 3.
b. List the class results in a table. Did everyone find the same
length? Why do you think this happened?
6. Reflect Name one advantage and one disadvantage of using

your body to make measurements.
In Scotland during the Middle Ages, a unit of measure

called the Scottish thumb was used. A Scottish thumb
is the mean of the thumb widths of three men: a large
man, an average-sized man, and a small man.
7. Why were three different-sized men used to
determine the Scottish thumb?
In 1616, the Germans decided to create a unit of measure called the

mean foot. To do this, they cut a piece of rope that was as long as the
feet of 16 men.
8. a. How do you think the rope was used to find the length of the
mean foot?
b. Which measurement is closer to the average person’s
measurement: the German mean foot or the Scottish
thumb? Explain your answer.
9. With the help of 16 classmates, find the length of the mean foot in
your class by using the method described above.
A Lengths
10. Measure the following in centimeters (cm). List the results in a table.
a. your thumb width c. your foot length
b. your hand span d. your pace
11. Use the table you made in problem 10 to answer the questions
about relationships between measures.
a. How many thumb widths are in one hand span?
b. How many thumb widths are in one foot?
c. How many feet are in one pace?
You may add other units of measure and the relationships between
them to your list.
12. What is the size of the “typical” thumb for your classmates?
Explain your answer.
Think about what it must have been like when everyone used his or
her own thumbs for measuring. Today, of course, everyone has
standard systems of measurement.
A few countries, including the United States, still use the foot as a unit
of measure, but the length of a foot no longer refers to the length of
each person’s foot. A standard has been officially established for the
length of a foot. Most countries use the metric system, which was
adopted in France in 1795.
13. a. The foot is a part of the Imperial, or English, system of
measurement. In the United States, we call this the
customary system. List some other units of measure
for length that are part of the customary system.
b. In your notebook, write as many relationships between the
units of measure in the customary system as you can.
14. a. List some units of measure for length that are part of the metric
system.
b. Write as many relationships between these units of measure as
you can.
Since the United States officially uses the metric system, it is important
for you to have a sense of how the metric and the customary systems
relate. The next activity will help you find some simple relationships
between the metric and customary systems.
4 Made to Measure
Comparing Systems
Meters and Yards
● Use a meter stick to measure your classroom. Predict how the
room dimensions would change if you measured with a
yardstick.
● Use a yardstick to measure your classroom. Compare your
prediction to your actual measurement.
● Find a conversion rule for meters and yards you can use when
doing mental calculations.
Centimeters and Inches

● Use a centimeter ruler to measure a paper clip. Predict how the
measurements would change if you measured using a ruler
with inches.
● Use an inch ruler to measure the paper clip. Compare your
prediction to your actual measurement.
● Find a conversion rule for centimeters and inches you can use
when doing mental calculations.
Kilometers and Miles

Since athletes compete internationally, all distances are in meters
(m) or kilometers (km). Today, many U.S. high school cross-country
teams run 5-km races. Did you know that five kilometers is about
three miles?
● Investigate how your school measures the running events. How
long is the running track that your school uses?
● Name a location that is about one mile away from your school.
Would a location that is about one kilometer away from your
school be closer or farther?
15. Write as many relationships between units in the customary

measurement system and the metric system as you can.
A Lengths
Feet and Shoes

In problem 10 c, you measured the length of your foot in centimeters.
The length of your foot is different from your shoe size.
16. a. Do you think that there is a relationship between shoe size and
foot length? Explain your answer.
b. Make a table that lists the foot length (in cm) and corresponding
shoe size for each student in your class.
c. Graph the results. Put foot length in centimeters on the
horizontal axis and shoe size on the vertical axis. What does
your graph tell you about the relationship between foot length
and shoe size?
Just as countries use different systems of measurement, they also

have different systems for determining shoe sizes. For some shoes,
you can find at least three different sizes:
● European size—usually a number between 33 and 47
● U.K. (United Kingdom) size—usually a number between 1 and 15
● U.S. size—usually a number between 1 and 15 (slightly larger
than U.K. sizes)
The U.K. system of shoe sizes began in the seventh

century.
Shoe sizes were measured with a standard thumb
(now called an inch).
17. How many standard thumbs (or inches) long is
your foot?
To get a more accurate measurement, the U.K. introduced a smaller

unit of measure, the stitch. Three stitches are in one standard thumb.
18. How many stitches long is your foot?
In the U.K. system, shoe sizes are based on the number of stitches.
The first 25 stitches are not counted in adult shoe sizes. Size 1 is,
2 inches (in.).
therefore, really 26 stitches, or 8
3
6 Made to Measure
Lengths A
19. a. Copy the table into your notebook and continue it to shoe size 8.
b. Use your answer to problem 18 to find your U.K. shoe size in

the table you made in part a. How does your U.K. shoe size
compare with your U.S. shoe size?
c. Formulate a rule that helps you find someone’s foot length in
inches if you know his or her U.K. shoe size. Write the rule in
arrow language.
? ?
U.K. shoe size ⎯⎯→ ……… ⎯⎯→ foot length
(in stitches) (in inches)
20. Reflect After you finish problem 19, look back at your answers to
problem 16. Would you change your answers now? Why
or why not?
In problem 10 you measured your pace and your foot length.

21. Make a table of the pace and foot-length measurements of all of
the students in your class. Use the results to determine whether
the two measures are related. For example, you can find out if the
person with the biggest foot also has the longest pace or if the
person with the shortest foot has the shortest pace. Drawing a
graph may be helpful.
A Lengths
Body Length and Fathom

The fathom is another unit of measure associated with the human
body. You can measure a person’s fathom by having him or her stand
tall and extend his or her arms out from both sides, horizontal to the
ground. The fathom originated as the distance from the middle
fingertip of one hand, to the middle fingertip of the other hand.
The picture is based on a famous drawing by Leonardo da Vinci. The

girl more or less fits in a square.
22. Based on the picture on this page, what is the relationship
between a person’s height and his or her fathom?
23. Measure your height and your fathom to decide how precisely
you would fit into a square.
8 Made to Measure
Lengths A
Other Measures for Length

There are many other ways to measure length. In Papua, New Guinea,
for example, a local unit of distance is “a day’s travel.”
24. Why might a day’s travel make sense as a unit of distance?
In mountainous regions of New Guinea, walking distances are

expressed in hours, not in kilometers or miles. Puli, a citizen of New
Guinea, says, “It will take us two hours to cover the distance from the
village to the lake in the mountains, but we save time on the return
trip. The distance back will only take five quarters of an hour.”
25. a. Why do you think there are two travel times?
b. Is the distance in kilometers different for the two directions?
Explain.
In the 14th century, the biggest trading empire in Africa was the
Empire of Mali. Mansa Musa was one of its emperors. Sheik Uthman
ed-Dukkali, a learned Egyptian who lived in Mali for 35 years, declared
that Mali was “four months of travel long and three months wide.”
Mali (1200 A.D. – 1500 A.D.)
Mali
SCALE
Source: Data from Basil Davidson,
African Kingdoms 0 1,000 2,000 km
(New York: Time Incorporated, 1966).
26. a. Use the map to estimate the length and width of the Empire
of Mali in both customary and metric units of measure.
(Note: 500 miles (mi) equals 800 km.)
b. What is the distance in miles or kilometers of “one month of
travel”?
c. Based on your answer to part b, how do you think people in
Mali traveled in the 14th century?
A Lengths
In this section, you learned many different ways to estimate and

measure length. In the past, people used thumbs, feet, and arms to
measure length, but each person often measured the same distance
differently. Some people use units of time to measure distances. For
example, Cedric takes one hour to hike around the nature trail.
Today, two standard systems of measurement exist. Most countries
of the world use the metric system, in which length is measured in
centimeters (cm), meters (m), and kilometers (km).
1 kilometer = 1000 meters
1 meter = 100 centimeters
1 centimeter = 10 millimeters
A few countries use the customary, or Imperial, system, in which

length is measured in inches (in.), feet (ft), yards (yd), and miles (mi).
1 mile = 5,280 feet
1 yard = 3 feet
1 foot = 12 inches
Here are some relationships between both measuring systems. You

may need to convert from one system to another.
1 mile is about 1.5 km (to be exact: 1 mi = 1.6 km)

1 yard is a little less than 1 m (to be exact: 1 yd = 0.9144 m)
1 foot is a little more than 30 cm (to be exact: 1 ft = 30.48 cm)
1 inch is about 2.5 cm (1 in. = 2.54 cm)
10 Made to Measure
1. Which unit of measurement would you use to measure the
following lengths?
a. the distance from your home to school
b. the length of your classroom
c. the thickness of a penny
2. List some distances expressed in units of time rather than units of

length. Explain why using time is appropriate in each case.
3. Most rulers have markings for both the customary and metric
systems.
a. Another common metric unit is a decimeter (dm);
1 dm = 10 cm. Use a ruler to draw exactly one dm.
b. Underneath your decimeter, use a ruler to draw 1 in.
c. Estimate about how many inches are in 1 dm.
d. Rewrite the list of metric measuring units in the Summary to
include a decimeter.
Neville, who lives in Denmark, wrote to his friend in Texas. “Today my

father and I went for a very long walk, about 16 km! I was very tired
when we got home!”
4. Estimate how many miles Neville walked.
Make a list of your own reference points that have to do with length.
For example, the distance from my house to our school is about
three miles.
B
Areas
A Body’s Surface Area
A body’s surface area is the amount of
skin that covers a body. Sometimes it is
important to know the surface area of a
person’s body. For example, health care
workers estimate the surface area of a
burned patient to decide how much
liquid the patient needs to replace lost
fluids.
Body surface area is also important
when caring for babies. Did you know
that babies cool down faster than
adults do? A person’s body cools down
by sweating in relation to body surface
area but warms up in relation to body
mass. A baby’s skin area is very large in
relation to his or her weight, so a baby
cools down much faster than an adult.
Babies can feel uncomfortably cold
even when adults feel warm. So when
you take care of a baby, don’t forget to
monitor his or her skin temperature.
1. How might you measure your body’s surface area or amount of

skin?
2. a. Estimate Ray’s body surface area in square centimeters. Ray is

157 cm tall, and his shoulder-to-shoulder width is 46 cm. Here
is one square centimeter (cm2) you can use as a reference.
12 Made to Measure
Areas B
As you go through this section, you will estimate a person’s body

surface area in many different ways. Here are measurement data for
five different 7th graders.
7th Grader Age (yrs) Height (cm) Shoulder Width (cm)
Joyce 12 135 38
Deon 13 147 46
Nora 12 151 43
Emmanuel 13 165 52
Luther 12 178 50
b. Estimate the body surface area of the 7th grader that is closest
to your own height. Copy this table into your notebook to keep
track of your estimations. Enter your method and estimate for
the 7th grader you chose.
Surface Area Estimation Table
7th Grader Estimation Method Estimate (cm2)
Every time you make a new estimate, record your answer in your table.
Squares
In Section A, you investigated how well
your body fits inside a square. Of course, not
everyone’s square is the same size. For some
people, it resembles a rectangle rather than
a square.
You can use the area of a body’s square
(or rectangle) to make another estimate of a
person’s surface area. It might surprise you
that three-fifths of the area of a body’s square
is a good estimate of a body’s surface area.
3 of a body’s square is a
3 Explain why
5
good estimate of a person’s surface area.
Section B: Areas 13
Skinning a Square
You will need a newspaper for this activity.
● Make a life-size body square out of newspaper. Use the data
from one of the 7th graders on the previous page. You will
probably need to tape some newspaper pages together to
create the entire body square.
● Shade and measure 3 of the square. Use square centimeters
5
to calculate the area of the shaded part of your square. This is
a new estimate for your 7th grader’s body surface area. Record
the result in your Surface Area Estimation Table.
● How close do you think your estimate is? Cut up the shaded
part of your square and try to piece together the front side of
your 7th grader. Report how well your “skin” would cover
your person. Save this person’s skin. You will need it later in
the section.
There are other ways to find your body’s surface

area. Timm Ulrichs, a German artist, did many
artistic experiments that were quite mathemati-
cal. Mr. Ulrichs found his own surface area using
small sticky squares. He took thousands of little
sticky squares of foil, each exactly the size of one
cm2, and stuck them on his body until he was
completely covered.
Since each piece of foil was 1 cm2, Ulrichs was
able to find the total surface area of his body. He
placed all of the foil squares on graph paper in
the shape of a large rectangle. He counted 18,360
1 cm2 squares and concluded that his body’s surface
area was 18,360 cm2.
4. Find some possible dimensions for the length and width of Timm
Ulrichs’s rectangle. You don’t have to be exact.
5. a. Suppose Timm Ulrichs’s height is 180 cm. What is the area of

a square with this height?
b. Is Timm Ulrichs’s body surface area of 18,360 cm2 equal to
3 of the square? Explain your answer.

5
14 Made to Measure
Areas B
Hands and Body

6. Trace your hand on cm-graph paper
as shown. Estimate the area of your
handprint in square centimeters.
Here is the height and width data for hand prints of the 7th graders.
7th Grader Age (yrs) Hand Height (cm) Hand Width (cm)
Joyce 12 14 9
Deon 13 15 10
Nora 12 17 11
Emmanuel 13 18 14
Luther 12 21 13
You can use the area of your handprint to estimate your body’s
surface area. Legend has it that it takes about 100 handprints to
cover the body.
7. a. Use the handprint dimensions to sketch a handprint of one
person.
b. Estimate the area of the handprint and the person’s body
surface area.
c. Does the handprint method give the same estimate of the
body’s surface area as Timm Ulrichs’s sticky squares method?
d. Record your new estimate in your Surface Area Estimation
Table.
Section B: Areas 15
B Areas
Burns can be very serious. The seriousness of a burn depends on

how much of the body has been burned. To estimate the extent of a
patient’s burns, health care workers use the “rule of nines.” This rule
divides the body into eleven sections, each of which accounts for 9%
of the total surface area, as shown in the picture.
Head and Neck 9%
Chest Back 9% Chest Front 9%
Abdomen Back 9% Abdomen 9%
Each Arm 9%
Each Upper Leg 9%
(Includes Front and Back)
Each Lower Leg 9%

(Includes Front and Back)
8. a. Think of a way to measure as precisely as possible one of

the “rule of nines” sections of the person you created in the
activity on page 14. Measure the area of this section in square
centimeters.
b. Use the result to calculate your person’s body surface area.
Record your new estimate in your Surface Area Estimation
Table.
16 Made to Measure
Areas B
Surface Area by Formula
There are both simple and complex formulas for finding the surface
area of a person’s body. One simple way is to multiply your height by
your thigh circumference (the length around your thigh) and double
the answer. Here is a formula for this method.
height thigh circumference 2 body surface area
(in cm) (in cm) (in cm2)
9. Use the new formula and the measurement data for one
7th grader to estimate the person’s body surface area. Write
your new estimate in your Surface Area Estimation Table.
7th Grader Age (yr) Height (in cm) Thigh Circumference (in cm)
Joyce 12 135 36
Deon 13 147 48
Nora 12 151 45
Emmanuel 13 165 54
Luther 12 178 48
The formula is based on the formula for the surface area of two
cylinders.
10. Explain how you can model the body using two cylinders of
equal height.
11. Reflect Would the formula work for babies? Explain why or
why not.
Section B: Areas 17
B Areas
Height, Weight, and Area

The surface area of a person’s body
relates to his or her height and weight.
Unfortunately, there is no easy formula
to find out exactly how these three
measures are related.
Instead, healthcare workers use a
special chart called a nomogram.
First they find the patient’s height
(in centimeters) in the left-hand column.
Next, they find the patient’s weight
(in kilograms) in the far right hand
column.
They connect these two points with
a line and read the estimate for the
patient’s surface area (in square
centimeters) from the middle column.
The estimate is where the line crosses
Adapted with permission from Arithmetic Teacher, © May 1989 by the National Council the middle scale.
of Teachers of Mathematics. All rights reserved.
12. a. A line for one patient has already been drawn on this
nomogram. What information about the patient is indi-
cated by the nomogram?
7th Grader Weight Here is the weight data for the 7th graders.
(in lb)
b. To use the nomogram, the weight must be in kilograms.
Joyce 84
Use this ratio table to calculate the kilogram weight of
Deon 96 each 7th grader.
Nora 102
Kilograms 1
Emmanuel 135
Pounds 2.2
Luther 125
c. Without drawing in your book, use the nomogram and a

straightedge to estimate one 7th grader’s body surface
area. Write your new estimate in your Surface Area
Estimation Table.
18 Made to Measure
Areas B
On average, the surface area of an adult’s body is about two square

meters (m2).
One square meter is exactly 10,000 cm2 (100 cm 100 cm).
13. Does the patient from problem 12a have an average body surface
area? What about the 7th grader you have been working with?
Early Areas
In Section A, you learned how body measures were first used as
measuring units for lengths. It wasn’t until later that measuring units
became standard. Initially, area was measured using measuring units
originating from the human body. Square feet, square thumbs, square
hand span, and square fathoms, were used to measure area.
The English used the units rood and acre.
Area units in the metric system relate to units of length; square
centimeters (cm2), square meters (m2), and square kilometers (km2) to
name a few. Some Americans measure area with square inches (in.2),
square feet (ft2), and square miles (mi2). To measure land area, they
1
use an ancient unit called the acre. One acre is 43,560 ft2 ( 2
640 mi or
4047 m2). Unlike the other measuring units for area, the acre does not
use the word “square” in its name. Parcels of land are often irregular
in shape.
Suppose each of these pieces of land measures one acre.
square rectangle
14. a. What are the dimensions (in feet) of each acre?

b. Make a scale drawing of a parcel of land that measures
10 acres.
The playing area of a football field is

100 yards long by 50 yards wide.
15. Use a calculation to show that a
football field is about one acre.
Section B: Areas 19
B Areas
Surface area is important for figuring out the amount of material

needed to cover something. You use body surface area to determine
the amount of fluid needed by burn victims.
Some metric units for measuring surface 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
area are square centimeters and square 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
meters. One square meter is the same as 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
10,000 square centimeters. 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90
91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Some customary units for measuring
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
surface area are square inches and
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
square feet. One square foot is the
37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48
same as 144 square inches.
49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72
73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84
85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96
97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108
109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120
121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132
133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144
An acre is an area unit for measuring land (1 acre = 43,560 ft2).

In this section, you learned about several different methods to find a
person’s body’s surface area.
3
•
5 of the person’s square • about 100 handprints
• height thigh circumference 2 • a nomogram scale
20 Made to Measure
3
Nicola is 1.58 m (or 158 cm) tall. She uses the method of
5 of a
square to find her body’s surface area.
1. a. Calculate Nicola’s body’s surface area.
b. Nicola’s answer to question 1a was 14,978.4 cm2. Why would
15,000 cm2 be a better estimate of her body’s surface area?
c. Is Nicola’s surface area less than, more than, or equal to 2 m2?
2. Trace your foot on graph paper and estimate the area of your
footprint in square centimeters.
You have used this formula for a person’s surface area.

height thigh circumference 2 = body surface area
This formula is based on the mathematical model of two cylinders.

There is another simple formula, based on the mathematical model of
one cylinder.
height hip circumference body surface area
3. a. Use the new formula to find the body surface area of an adult
who is 1.85 m tall and has a hip circumference of 105 cm.
b. Is the body surface area you found about average?
Write a paragraph or two comparing the different methods you used

for estimating a person’s body surface area. Which of these methods
do you think is most accurate? Why?
Section B: Areas 21
C
Volumes
The Volume of Your Heart
In the last two sections, you measured
lengths and surface area. You can also
measure, estimate, and calculate volume.
Knowing the volume of a three-dimensional
object is useful when you want to describe
how much space it takes up.
Your heart is about the size of your two fists

clenched together.
1. Estimate the volume of your heart.
Solids
You can use cubes to completely fill up a solid, a name
for a 3-dimensional shape. To make a centimeter cube
(cm3), draw a figure like the one shown here. The figure
is called the net of a cube.
2. a. Use centimeter graph paper to draw a net of a
centimeter cube. Cut it out and fold along the
dotted lines. Tape the tabs to make one cubic
centimeter (cm3).
1 cm
b. Does your class have enough centimeter cubes
to fill up one cubic decimeter (dm3)?
1 cm
(Remember: 10 cm 1 dm.)
c. How many centimeter cubes do you need to
completely fill one dm3?
22 Made to Measure
Volumes C
Find an empty tissue box.

3. a. Estimate how many centimeter cubes you would need to fill
up the tissue box.
b. Cut off the top. How many centimeter cubes do you need to
completely fill it? Explain how you found your answer.
If 32 centimeter cubes completely fill a box, then the volume of the box
is 32 cm3. For larger objects, you would use larger measuring units.
For example, you would measure the volume of your classroom in
cubic decimeters or cubic meters (in the metric system) or in cubic
feet or cubic yards (in the customary system).
4. a. For what other kinds of objects would you measure the volume
in cubic centimeters? Cubic decimeters? Cubic meters?
b. Write some statements about how cubic centimeters, cubic
decimeters, and cubic meters are related.
Maria wants to find the volume of the box shown here.

She started filling the box with the centimeter cubes.
4 cm Maria says, “I can easily find the volume of the box.
Since the box measures 8 cm by 7 cm, I can fit 56 cubes
on the bottom layer.”
7 cm 8 cm 5. Explain what else Maria has to do to find the
volume of the box.
6. Find the volume of this container.
Area of
the base:
100 cm2 5 cm
Section C: Volumes 23
C Volumes
The 1, 2, 3 Cheese Factory makes cheese cubes. They

wrap each cube so that the cheese cubes look like
number cubes. The edges of the cubes have a length
of 2 cm.
7. a. How many of the one-cubic centimeter cubes
would you need to fill the space taken by one
cheese cube? (Hint: It may help to make a
drawing.)
The 1, 2, 3 Cheese Factory packages the cheese cubes

in a large plastic container, also the shape of a cube.
b. Would 100 cheese cubes exactly fill up this
plastic cube? Explain why or why not.
The 1, 2, 3 Cheese Factory is designing a new plastic

container that is 10 cm tall and holds exactly 60
cheese cubes.
c. What is the volume of this new plastic
container?
d. List some possible dimensions for this new
design. (Hint: It may help to make a drawing.)
Maria designed a 10-cm tall container with base dimensions 6 cm by

4 cm. She says, “To find the volume, I figured out the area of the base
of the container and multiplied by 10 cm.”
8. a. Use Maria’s method to find the volume of her container.
b. How many cheese cubes would fit in her container?
9. Suppose that you want to determine the volume of your

classroom.
a. Is it possible to use centimeter cubes (like the one you made
on page 22) to find the volume of the classroom?
b. Can you use the area of one wall to find the volume of your
classroom? Find the volume of your classroom. Be sure to use
the right unit measurements.
24 Made to Measure
Volumes C
10. Is it possible to use centimeter cubes (like the one you made on
page 22) to find the volume of a soda can? Explain your reasoning.
Expressed as a formula, this was Maria’s strategy.

volume area of the Base height
11. Can this formula be used to find the volume of a stack of paper?
A soda can?
The formula does not work for

all three-dimensional objects.
For example, you cannot find the
volume of the pyramid by using h
this formula. h
12. a. Give an example for which the formula does work and another
example for which the formula does not work.
b. Reflect Why does the formula give the correct answer for
some objects but not for others?
You can use the area of your handprint (Section B, problem 7) to

estimate the volume of your hand.
13. a. Besides the area of your handprint, what other measure(s) do
you need to estimate the volume of your hand?
b. Estimate the volume of your hand.
C Volumes
Liquids
The units used to measure liquids are different from the units used
to measure solids. Pints, quarts, gallons, liters, and milliliters are all
typical measures of liquid volume.
Here are some bottles whose contents are measured
with units of liquid volume.
If you are estimating volumes, it may be helpful to
know that:
1 liter.
• a regular soda can contains about
3
1
2 liter 1 liter 2 liters • a cubic decimeter contains exactly one liter
of liquid.
14. Estimate the volume (in liters) of the following objects.

a. an orange juice container c. a small cup of juice
b. a large glass of water d. a gallon of milk
Measuring the Volume of Your Hand

For this activity, you will need a can or beaker that measures in
milliliters. It should be big enough so that you can put your
hand in it.
Pour water into the can or beaker so that it is about half full.
Measure and record the level of the water. Then, put a rubber
band on your wrist, and put your entire hand in the water up
to the bottom edge of the rubber band. You may want to make
a fist. Be sure that your whole hand is underwater.
Measure and record the new water level. The difference between
the old level and the new level is the volume of your hand in
milliliters (ml).
26 Made to Measure
Volumes C
You now have two estimates of the volume of your hand: one in cubic
centimeters (from problem 13) and the other in milliliters. How are
these two measurements related?
15. a. Make a table listing the two estimates of hand volumes for
ten students.
b. Find a relationship between the two measurements—
milliliters and cubic centimeters. Drawing a graph might
be helpful.
250
200
Milliliters
150
100
50
0 50 100 150 200 250
Cubic Centimeters
The Volume of Your Body

You could find the volume of your body in the same way that you
found the volume of your hand, using liquid measures, but you
would probably need a bathtub to do it!
Another way is to use solid units of measure

and to think of your body as being made up
of cubes.
16. Estimate your body’s volume by modeling
your body with cubes as shown on the
left. You will need to decide on a good unit
of measure for the cubes.
To estimate the volume of your body, you can
also use a block to model your body, as shown
on the left.
C Volumes
Data for Mindy at Three Ages
Ages (in years) 10 13 16
Height (in dm) 14 16 17
Mass (in kg) 31 52 65
Surface Area (in dm2) 110 150 175
Volume (in dm3) 41 67 79
The table above contains some information about Mindy when she
was 10, 13, and 16 years old.
17. Use a block to model Mindy’s volume when she was 13 years old.
Find the width and depth measurements of the block.
Other Measures for Volume
In the past, units of measure for volume were sometimes related to

body sizes. It was more common, however, to use measurement tools
like the cup as standards for measuring volume.
The ancient Egyptians had the first unit of measure for length—the
cubit. The cubit is the distance from a person’s elbow to the tip of
the extended middle finger.
28 Made to Measure
Volumes C
The Egyptians used a standard length called the royal cubit, which is
52.4 cm, or 20.62 in.
In the ancient Egyptian system, the volume unit of measure is the
cubic cubit.
18. a. Use your two arms to get a rough idea of how big a cubic
cubit is.
b. About how many “royal” cubic cubits are there in a cubic
meter?
The cubic fathom is a unit of measure used in the 1800s in Europe

to measure volumes of firewood. (Remember that a fathom is the
distance between your two outstretched arms.)
19. a. Estimate the amount of firewood that can fit into your cubic
fathom.
b. What else can you measure with a cubic fathom? With a cubic
cubit?
In the United States, firewood is measured in cords. A face cord is 4 ft

high, 8 ft long, and 16 in. deep. A face cord usually fits in the back of a
pickup truck. A full cord is 4 ft high, 8 ft long, and 4 ft deep.
20. How much more firewood is in a full cord than in a face cord?
C Volumes
Volume is important for measuring the sizes of such objects as a

package, a drink, or even your hand.
In this section, you measured volume in two ways—with liquid units
of measure (such as liters) and with solid units of measure (such as
cubic centimeters).
You also measured the following:
• the volume of an object when you wanted to know how much
space it takes up or how much it holds.
• the surface area or area of an object when you wanted to know
what it takes to cover it.
• the length of an object when you wanted to know how long or
how tall it is.
1. When would it be useful to know the volume of an object?
2. Which unit measurement would you use for the following

objects? (Choose from liters, cubic centimeters, and cubic
meters.)
a. a bottle of water
b. the volume of water in a swimming pool
c. the volume of a package containing math books
30 Made to Measure
In a supermarket, you can buy small packages of fruit drinks in
different sizes.
3. a. Could both packages show: Contains 0.2 liters? Why or

why not?
b. Three packages of Frisca are packaged together and sold
for $1.98. What is the price of one liter of Frisca?
Linda knows that one liter equals “one cubic something.” She doesn’t
remember whether it is 1 cm3, 1 dm3, or 1 m3. Explain to Linda which
unit of measure equals one liter.
D
Angles
Furniture
When designing furniture, cars, computers, and other items, it is
sometimes necessary to know the angles that a person can make with
his or her arms, ankles, wrists, and head.
1. For what objects might it be important to keep angles in mind?
Ergonomics is important for designing work environments. Designers

use ergonomics to determine the placement of office equipment and
the size and dimensions of furniture that will create safe, efficient
working environments for people. Designers also consider ergonomics
when creating new buses and trains for commuters, for example, by
placing controls close to the driver.
2. Find the dictionary definition of ergonomics.
Arcs of Movement
The first drawing shows the “arc of movement” of someone’s left

hand. The picture shows how far to the left and right the wrist can
bend.
32 Made to Measure
Angles D
You can measure the arc of movement of your own hands.

• Draw a small x on the bottom of a sheet of paper.
• Lay your forearm flat, with your left hand and wrist on the sheet
of paper. Put the middle of your wrist over the small x.
• Put a mark on the paper at the top of your middle finger.
• With your arm and hand flat on the table, bend your wrist to the
right as far as you can without moving your arm. Put another
mark on the paper at the top of your middle finger.
• Bend your wrist to the left as far as you can without moving
your arm. Mark the location of the top of your middle finger.
• Draw lines from each of the three finger marks to the small x
(the middle of your wrist).
3. a. Use your compass card or protractor to measure the angles

that your left hand can bend to the right and to the left.
b. What do you think the angles will be for your right hand?
Measure the arc of movement of your right hand following the same
instructions on page 32 and above.
4. a. Do you think the results of problem 3 will vary for different
students in your class?
b. Why might someone be interested in studying the motion of
the wrist joint?
When typing on a computer keyboard, your hands

should rest on the keys. In order to reach all of the
keys, your hands must bend sideways. If you do a lot
of typing, the position in which you hold your hands
on the keyboard can cause physical discomfort in
your hands, wrists, or forearms.
Section D: Angles 33
D Angles
Studies on ergonomic keyboard design have found that most people

prefer a split keyboard. A split keyboard is divided into two parts: the
left part ends with the keys T-G-B, and the right part starts with keys
Y-H-N.
On a split keyboard, the two parts make an angle of about 25°, that is,
the lines drawn through T-G-B and Y-H-N make an angle of 25°. The
distance between the two parts—or between the keys G and H—
should be about 95 mm.
5. a. Make a drawing of a split keyboard. You do not have to draw

all of the keys, only an outline of the two parts.
b. What is one advantage to using a split keyboard?
Another important angle in design involves your line of sight. If you

look straight ahead, your line of sight follows a horizontal line. Your
normal line of sight is typically 10° to 15° below the horizontal.
10° to 15°
In the best ergonomic computer design, the screen should not be

lower than the sight line of 15° below the horizontal.
34 Made to Measure
Angles D
Ellen uses a special device for her computer, which enables her to
adjust the screen. This drawing is also shown on Student Activity
Sheet 1.
Ellen sits at her chair in front of the computer screen. The horizontal
line of sight from Ellen’s eye to the screen is at the midpoint of the
screen. The distance from Ellen’s eye to the midpoint of the screen
is 65 cm.
6. a. Use Student Activity Sheet 1 to find the exact place of Ellen’s
eye while she is looking at her computer screen.
b. Is Ellen’s computer positioned according to the design
recommendations?
You can also use ergonomics to design an easy chair. Some typical
recommendations for the design of an easy chair follow.
● The seat should be tilted backward so that you will not slide off.
A tilt of 14 to 24 degrees to the horizontal is recommended.
● The angle between the backrest and the seat should be from
105 to 110 degrees, and the angle between the backrest and
the horizontal should be from 110 to 130 degrees.
D Angles
Here are two different easy chairs.
7. Check to see if these chairs fit the recommendations on page 35.
8. Based on these recommendations, design your own easy chair.

Draw a side view of your chair on an appropriate scale.
Shown here is the side view

of an office chair.
9. a. Use Student Activity Sheet 1 to measure the angles the seat

and the backrest make to the horizontal plane. Also measure
the angle of the backrest to the seat. Draw extra lines if you
want to.
b. Compare your findings to the recommendations above for
easy chairs. What conclusion can you make?
36 Made to Measure
Angles D
The following text is taken from a book on ergonomics, Fitting the

Task to the Man, by Etienne Grandjean.
“The arm can rotate through an angle of 250 ° about its
axis…of which a half-circle (180 ° ) lies in front of the body,
and a further 70 ° or thereabouts, backwards.”
10. a. Read the text carefully. Write in you own words what the text
means.
b. Check to see if your arm can make an angle of 70 ° backward.
First, think of a way to measure this angle.
Math History
Challenged by the Egyptians!
It is sometimes said that measurement is the oldest appearance of
mathematics. The name geometry literally means “measuring the
earth.” Several pieces of papyrus have been found showing that
over 5,000 years ago the Egyptians measured the area of the fields
after the river Nile flooded. This may have been used to calculate
the amount of taxes people had to pay. Many calculations and
measurements were necessary to
build the pyramids in Egypt.
The Egyptians also knew abstract facts
about area and volume. The so-called
Moscow Papyrus, illustrated here,
shows how the volume of a truncated
pyramid was calculated.
2
2
This is what the truncated pyramid

looks like. The base is a 4 4 square
and the top is a 2 2 square. 6
The height is 6. Could you find the
volume of this truncated pyramid?
The answer is 58. Show how you
found the answer.
4
4
D Angles
In this section, you investigated the movement for both the right and
left hand. You also explored how the placement of a computer screen
and the angles between the seat and the backrest of an easy chair can
affect your comfort.
Frank is a small boy sitting behind a computer desk. The horizontal sight
line from his eye to the screen ends at the midpoint of the screen.
1. a. Measure the angle between the two sight lines shown in the
drawing.
b. Is the computer screen positioned according to the design
recommendations?
38 Made to Measure
(“In the best ergonomic computer design, the screen should not be
lower than the sight line of 15° below the horizontal.”)
2. a. Spread your fingers to find the maximum angle between two
of your fingers. Make a drawing to show your work.
b. Do you think all students in your class found approximately
the same answer to problem 2a? Why or why not?
Complete the list of personal reference points you started in Section A.

Write formulas you can use to convert commonly used measuring
units. Adapt each formula to make it easy to do the conversions
mentally.
Customary to Metric Metric to Customary
miles ➝ kilometers kilometers ➝ miles
inches ➝ centimeters centimeters ➝ inches
feet ➝ centimeters centimeters ➝ feet
pounds ➝ kilograms kilograms ➝ pounds
Additional Practice
Section A Lengths
1. List some body measures that would be useful to know if you
were designing the following items.
a. telephones
b. children’s beds
c. kitchen cabinets
2. List all of the units of (length) measure that you know that
are related to the human body. Explain the meaning of each
measure.
3. Which unit of measurement would you use to measure the
following. (Note: Use the metric as well as the customary
system.)
a. the height of a door
b. the length of a city block
c. the length of a post-it-note
Here is the rule, expressed as an arrow string, to find someone’s foot

length in inches if you know his or her U.K. shoe size:
25 3
U.K. size ⎯⎯ ⎯→ ______ ⎯⎯⎯→ foot length (in inches)
4. a. Matthew wears size 5 in the U.K. system. What length (in

inches) is his foot?
b. Sondra measured her foot length, 9.5 in. Which shoe size
(U.K. system) do you advise her to choose?
5. Which would you use to express the following distances—length

or time? Explain.
a. the distance from your home to school
b. the distance from your city to New York City
c. the distance from start to finish of a hiking trail
40 Made to Measure
Section B Areas
1. Estimate the surface area of the following objects.
a. a basketball b. a book c. a cereal box
2. For which object in problem 1 was it easiest to find the surface

area? Why?
3. How many square centimeters are in one square meter?
The units for length in the metric system relate to each other.
kilometers ⎯10
⎯→ hectometers ⎯10
⎯→ decameters ⎯10
⎯→ meters
⎯10
⎯→ decimeters ⎯10
⎯→ centimeters ⎯10
⎯→ millimeters
4. Make a similar arrow string showing the relationship between

units for area in the metric system.
5. Enrique lives on a 15-acre farm.

a. About how many football fields would cover his farm?
b. What are possible dimensions for Enrique’s farm?
Section C Volumes
1. List all of the units of measure for volume that you know and
explain how they relate to each other.
2. Find the volume in cubic centimeters of the following.
a. b.
Area of
the base: 6 cm
80 cm2 12 cm 4 cm
15 cm
Additional Practice 41
Additional Practice
One liter is one cubic decimeter (dm3).

3. a. What are possible dimensions (in inches) of a package with a
volume of approximately one liter.
b. Use your answer for a to fill in the sentence.
One liter is approximately _______________ cubic inches.
4. Estimate the volume in liters of:

a. a bathtub
b. a quart of milk
c. a bottle of shampoo
Section D Angles
1. Draw a side view of a chair so that the angle between the seat
and the backrest is 115° and the angle between the seat and the
horizontal is 7°.
2. Below is a side view of a computer screen and a keyboard on a

desk.
a. Measure the angle of the keyboard to the desk.
b. Measure the angle of the monitor to the horizontal plane of
the desk.
42 Made to Measure
Section A Lengths
1. Here are some possible units of measurement.
a. Miles, kilometers, paces, minutes.
b. Meters, decimeters, or feet. Many classrooms are about 8 m,
or about 25 feet long.
c. Millimeters. A penny has a thickness of about 1.5 mm.
Check with a classmate if your answers do not match any of these.
2. Here are some examples, but yours may be different.

• Distance from home to school. It is important to know how much
time it takes to go to school in order to be on time for school.
• Walking in the mountains. In the mountains you may want to
be back before dark, so it helps to know how long it will take.
In general, walking speed is about 4 km or 2.5 miles per hour but
much slower when you have to climb uphill or walk through sand.
3. a. Here is 1 dm.
b. Here is an inch.
c. A good estimate is about 4 in.; it is actually a little less

than 4 in.
d. 1 km 1,000 m
1 m 10 dm or 100 cm
1 dm 10 cm
Note that some measurements are not in the list:
one hectometer (hm), one decameter (dam), and
one millimeter (mm). The complete list follows:
1 km 10 hm 1 m 10 dm
1 hm 10 dam 1 dm 10 cm
1 dam 10 m 1 cm 10 mm
4. About 10 miles. Using the information from problem 26:

500 miles is about 800 km, so 8 km is about 5 miles, and 16 km is
about 10 miles.

Answers to Check Your Work
Section B Areas
1. a. About 15,000 cm2.
Rounding Nicola’s height up to 160 cm, Nicola’s personal
square has an area of 25,600 cm2. One-fifth is 5,120 cm2
and three-fifths is 15,360 cm2. Adjusting for rounding, a
good estimate is 15,000 cm2.
b. Having a decimal in the answer is not appropriate here.
This method is only an estimate, so 15,000 cm2 is more
reasonable for estimating.
c. Nicola’s surface area is less than two square meters.
Recall that 1 m2 10,000 cm2, since 1 m2 is a 100 cm by 100 cm
square and 100 cm 100 cm 10,000 cm2; 2 m2 is double
that amount, or 20,000 cm2. Two square meters is well over
Nicola’s surface area of 15,000 cm2.
2. Estimates will likely be between 130–280 cm2. Exchange your

graph with a classmate to verify your estimate.
3. a. Using the new formula, the surface area is about 19,425 cm2.
Using hip circumference of 105 cm and a height of 185 cm,
you calculate 185 cm 105 cm 19,425 cm2.
b. This is about average since the body surface area for an adult
is about 2 m2 and 19,425 cm2 ≈ 1.9 m2.
Section C Volumes
1. Here is one response. Yours may be different.
You might need to know an object’s volume for packing, shipping,
or pricing.
2. a. a bottle of water: 1 liter.

b. the volume of the water in a swimming pool: 900 m3.
c. the volume of a package of math books: 3,000 cm3.
44 Made to Measure
Answers to Check Your Work
3. a. Yes, both packages can show, “contains 0.2 liters.” One liter is
the same as 1,000 cm3 (1 dm3), so 0.2 liters is about 200 cm3.
The shorter package has a volume of 202.5 cm3 (7.5 cm
4.5 cm 6 cm). The taller package has a volume of 216 cm3
(4.5 cm × 4 cm × 12 cm). The volume of both packages needs
to be a little more than 200 cm3, so the juice will not spill out
of the container too easily.
b. One liter costs $3.30. Sample explanation:
Three packages contain 0.6 liters (3 × 0.2 liters). Use a ratio
table to find the price of one liter.
Volume (in liters) 0.6 0.3 0.1 1.0
Price (in dollars) 1.98 0.99 0.33 3.30
Section D Angles
1. a. The angle measures about 30° .
b. The angle below the horizontal sight line is half of 30° or 15°.
The angle requirements are satisfied, but the screen is too high!
2. a. Your angle probably measures between 30° and 40° .

b. No, probably not. Some students have a wider angle between
their fingers than others. Compare your results with those of
classmates.

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Answers to Check Your Work 43

Welcome to the Mathematics in Context unit Made to Measure. This

You will find that mathematics plays an

Whenever you make a measurement in this unit,

The Mathematics in Context Development Team

People who design the objects you use every

1. Which body measures would be useful to know if you were

4. a. Which of the units of measure from

5. a. Measure the length of your desk by using one or more of the

6. Reflect Name one advantage and one disadvantage of using

In Scotland during the Middle Ages, a unit of measure

In 1616, the Germans decided to create a unit of measure called the

Centimeters and Inches

Kilometers and Miles

15. Write as many relationships between units in the customary

Feet and Shoes

Just as countries use different systems of measurement, they also

The U.K. system of shoe sizes began in the seventh

To get a more accurate measurement, the U.K. introduced a smaller

b. Use your answer to problem 18 to find your U.K. shoe size in

In problem 10 you measured your pace and your foot length.

Body Length and Fathom

The picture is based on a famous drawing by Leonardo da Vinci. The

Other Measures for Length

In mountainous regions of New Guinea, walking distances are

Mali (1200 A.D. – 1500 A.D.)

In this section, you learned many different ways to estimate and

A few countries use the customary, or Imperial, system, in which

Here are some relationships between both measuring systems. You

1 mile is about 1.5 km (to be exact: 1 mi = 1.6 km)

2. List some distances expressed in units of time rather than units of

Neville, who lives in Denmark, wrote to his friend in Texas. “Today my

1. How might you measure your body’s surface area or amount of

2. a. Estimate Ray’s body surface area in square centimeters. Ray is

As you go through this section, you will estimate a person’s body

7th Grader Age (yrs) Height (cm) Shoulder Width (cm)

Surface Area Estimation Table

7th Grader Estimation Method Estimate (cm2)

There are other ways to find your body’s surface

5. a. Suppose Timm Ulrichs’s height is 180 cm. What is the area of

Hands and Body

Burns can be very serious. The seriousness of a burn depends on

Head and Neck 9%

Chest Back 9% Chest Front 9%

Abdomen Back 9% Abdomen 9%

Each Lower Leg 9%

8. a. Think of a way to measure as precisely as possible one of

Surface Area by Formula

Height, Weight, and Area

c. Without drawing in your book, use the nomogram and a

On average, the surface area of an adult’s body is about two square

14. a. What are the dimensions (in feet) of each acre?

The playing area of a football field is

Surface area is important for figuring out the amount of material

Some metric units for measuring surface 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

area are square centimeters and square 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

meters. One square meter is the same as 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30