Measuring and Estimating Length: math practice, Grade 2 – download the PDF

1 Choose the best unit ★★★

Choose the best unit for each measurement.

1. The length of a bean (centimeters or meters)
2. The length of a hallway (inches or feet)
3. The width of a playground (centimeters or meters)
4. The length of a notebook (inches or feet)

2 Read the ruler ★★★

A marker is lined up with the 0 mark of the ruler.

How long is the marker? Write your answer with a unit.

3 A strip that does not start at 0 ★★★

A paper strip is placed on a centimeter ruler.

Where does the strip start and where does it end? How long is it?

4 Matching units ★★★

Fill in the blanks.

1. 1 foot = ___ inches
2. 1 meter = ___ centimeters
3. 1 yard = ___ feet
4. 2 feet = ___ inches

5 Which is longer? ★★★

Circle the longer length in each pair.

1. 8 inches or 1 foot
2. 2 feet or 20 inches

6 Pick the tool ★★★

Match each job with the best tool: ruler, yardstick or measuring tape.

1. Measure a pencil.
2. Measure the width of the whole classroom.
3. Measure the height of a bookshelf that is about 3 feet tall.

7 True or false? ★★★

Write true or false and explain.

1. A foot is longer than an inch.
2. A meter stick is shorter than a yardstick.
3. 100 centimeters is the same as 1 meter.
4. To measure a hallway you would use more centimeters than meters.

8 Same desk, two units ★★★

Lena measures her desk in inches and gets 24 inches. Then she measures it in feet. What does she get? Why is the number smaller?

9 Who guessed best? ★★★

A book is really 10 inches long. Mia estimated 8 inches and Leo estimated 11 inches. Whose estimate was closer?

10 Joining ribbons ★★★

Nora has a ribbon that is 15 centimeters long and another one that is 28 centimeters long. She ties them end to end. How long is the new ribbon?

11 Cutting a rope ★★★

A jump rope is 45 inches long. Omar cuts off 18 inches to make it shorter. How long is the rope now?

12 Red and blue yarn ★★★

A blue yarn is 36 centimeters long. A red yarn is 52 centimeters long.

1. How much longer is the red yarn?
2. How long are the two yarns together?

13 The frog jump ★★★

A frog jumps 25 inches and then 14 more inches along a path.

Where does the frog land? Write the number sentence.

14 Reading a line plot ★★★

The line plot shows the heights of plants in a garden.

1. How many plants are 6 inches tall?
2. How many plants are taller than 6 inches?
3. How much taller is the tallest plant than the shortest?
4. How many plants were measured?

15 Make a line plot ★★★

Jada measured ten leaves to the nearest centimeter: 3, 5, 4, 4, 6, 5, 4, 3, 5, 4.

1. Count how many leaves there are of each length.
2. Describe how to draw the line plot.
3. What is the most common length?
4. How many leaves are 5 centimeters or longer?

16 Building a fence ★★★

A short fence is made from three boards that are 24 inches, 24 inches and 17 inches long, placed end to end. A fourth board is added and the fence is now 90 inches long.

1. How long was the fence with three boards?
2. How long is the fourth board?

17 Jumping contest ★★★

Maya jumped 3 feet. Ben jumped 30 inches. Who jumped farther, and by how many inches?

18 Three snakes ★★★

At the zoo, three snakes measure 58 centimeters, 74 centimeters and 66 centimeters.

1. Put the lengths in order from shortest to longest.
2. How much longer is the longest snake than the shortest snake?

19 Find the mistake ★★★

Sam put a pencil on a ruler. The pencil starts at the 1 mark and ends at the 8 mark. Sam says, “The pencil is 8 inches long.” What mistake did Sam make? What is the correct length?

20 Two scarves ★★★

A red scarf is 63 centimeters long. A blue scarf is 27 centimeters shorter than the red scarf.

1. How long is the blue scarf?
2. How long are the two scarves together?

21 The one-meter ribbon ★★★

Pia has a ribbon that is 1 meter long. She cuts a piece that is 35 centimeters and another piece that is 28 centimeters. How much ribbon is left? (Hint: 1 meter is 100 centimeters.)