9
Activity 3
How Do You Measure Up?
Number Sense
♦ratios
♦mean
♦estimation
♦measurement
Students discover the ratio between their heights and the lengths of their intestines. This activity is a good introduction to using lists to find the mean and performing operations on lists.
Materials
♦tape measures or rulers for students to measure their heights
♦ball of string
♦scissors
♦masking tape
♦
Setup
♦Ask students: How long do you think your small intestine is?
♦Have each student estimate the length of their intestine in meters or feet, and then cut a piece of string this length.
♦Tape a long strip of masking tape on the floor as the horizontal axis, and then make a vertical bar graph using the students’ pieces of strings.
➪You may want to do this part of the setup in the
hall or some place with a large area of floor space.
In this part, students find the average length of their small intestines. Have students perform the steps unless otherwise indicated.
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