Unit 3: Length, Area and

Volume
Subtitle
3.1: Measurement
› Measurements are used in everyday activities like grocery
shopping, the workplace and building household items.
› It is crucial to be able to do these things:
1. Convert measurements
2. Calculate measurements
3. Use measurements to gain more knowledge
Units of Measurement
› Each type of measurement might have it’s own scale or
way of classifying items.

› Inches for height, 12 inches = 1 foot

› Miles for distance, 1 mile = 1760 yards
› Pounds for weight, 2.2 pounds = 1 kg
Systems of Measurements
› Different places in the world will use different ways of
measuring.

1. Metric System or International System of

Measurements (SI): Used almost everywhere in the
world. Examples are kilometers and pounds.
2. Imperial System: Used in U.S. and other places in Asia
and Europe. Examples are miles and tonnes.
Difference Between Each
› SI or Metric System is a decimal system whichvmeans that
every measurement can be converted by multiplying or
dividing by 10, 100, 1000, 10000, 100000 and etc.
› The Base Unit For SI is metre (m) for length and litre (L) for
volume

› The Imperial System was not used as a decimal system.

Therefore different measurements have different scales.
For example: 12 inches in 1 foot, 3 feet in a yard.
› The Base Unit for Imperial System is foot (ft) for length and
pint (oz.) for volume.
Key Terms: 3.1
› Base Unit: a unit of measurement on which other units are
based. For example: Speed = distance (km) over time
(seconds)

› Volume: the amount of space a solid occupies. For

example: A can of Coke holds 355 mL of volume.

› Conversion Factor: a number by which a quantity

expressed in one unit must be multiplied to convert it to
another unit. For example: 1 foot = 12 inches. How many
inches are in 5 feet?
Perimeter
› The distance around a polygon
› A square has 4 equal sides (quadrilateral) therefore to find
the perimeter for a square is P = 4 x length.

› A rectangles has 4 sides but only 2 of the sides are the

same as each other. These are called the length and width
of the rectangle. Therefore to find the perimeter for a
rectangle is P = 2 x length + 2 x width or 2L +2W.
Example I
› Calculate the sum of the side lengths to find the perimeter.

18.3 cm

8.5 cm
Example II
› Don uses colored wire to make a model of the Olympic
rings (5 interlocking rings). If each circle has a radius of 35
cm, how much wire does he need?
3.1: Exploring The Imperial System
› In Canada, we use the SI system for almost all measurements.
However, due to the fact we are extremely close to the U.S., the
imperial system has also bled its way into our everyday lives.
› Common imperial units of length and their relationships
› 12 inches (in or ") = 1 foot (ft or ')
› 36 inches = 1 yard (yd)
› 3 feet = 1 yard
› 5280 feet = 1 mile (mi)
› 1760 yards = 1 mile
Example I
› Bernard is buying some lumber to finish as project. He
needs 3 pieces two by four that are each 4 ½ feet long and
10 pieces of two by two that are each 5 ¼ feet long. How
much feet of each does he need total?
Example II
› Paula is trying to calculate how much hardwood she needs
for the following room. Calculate the total.
15 feet 8”

3 foot 2”
2 feet 4”
3 feet 2”
37 feet

33 feet 5”

15 feet 8”
Example III
› A pet shop stores 5 pet cages that are 2 foot 8” wide, 3
cages that are 4 foot 6” wide, and 2 cages that are 1 foot 8”
wide. Can these cages fit side by side along a wall that is
30 long?
Example IV
› Convert the following measurements

A. 5 foot 7” to inches

B. 108 inches to yards

C. 4 yards to feet

D. 3 miles to both yards and feet

3.2: Area
› The following are crucial formulas needed for the rest of
the unit

› Area of Rectangle: A = lw. Length x width.

› Area of Circle: A = πr^2. π (3.14) x radius squared.
› Area of Triangle: A = ½ bh. Base x height divided by 2.
› Area of Cone. A = πrs. Π (3.14) x radius x slant.
› Circumference of Circle. C = 2πr. 2 x π (3.14) x radius
Example I
1. Ina is laying turf in a yard measuring 38 ft by 20 ft. What is the
yard's area in square feet?

2. What is the area of a fire pit that does not need turf if the
radius is 3 ft?

3. Ina also wants to put in a triangle shaped patio with a base of

4 feet and a height of 6 feet. What area does the patio take
up.

4. What is the total area needed for turf after finding the fire pit
and patio area?
Example II
› Anthony just opened up an ice cream shop. To gain
customers, he wants to break the world record for biggest
ice cream cone. If the radius of the cone 4 ft and the slant
is at 7. What is the area of ice cream needed to fill the
cone top to bottom?
Example III
› What is the circumference of the following circle?

13 inch
Example IV
› Rebecca is planning to install sod in her backyard, which is
18.2 m by 9.8 m. If sod costs $0.28/ft2, how much will it
cost to sod the backyard?
 3.2: Converting Measurements Between SI
and Imperial Systems
› The following formula sheet is crucial for finding the
different conversions and measurements between SI and
Imperial measurements.
› Steps For Converting SI to Imperial and Vice Versa:

1. Convert into unit that is easiest to translate. For example:

cm into inches
2. Find formula or technique best suited to solve question.
3. Write in new measurement.
Rules For Converting For SI Measurements
K-H-D-M-D-C-M

King Henry Died Mother Didn’t Care Much

K- Kilo
H – Hecto
D – Decta DIVIDE BY 10
M – Meter
D- Decimeter MULTIPLY BY 10
C – Cenimetre
M – Millimeter

**Always divide or multiply by 10 to get to the unit**

Example I
› Ben drives to work everyday and is paid a travelers fee of
$0.89/km. If he drove 1315 miles in one month. How much
did he make in travelers fee?

› How many football fields did he drive?

Example II
› Kuldeep has been hired to lay terracotta tiles on a floor that
measures 4.2 m by 3.8 m. The tiles are 9″ by 9″ and come
in boxes of 12.

› A) How many boxes does he need to buy (must be full

boxes)

› B) If the tiles cost $18.95 per box, how much will it cost?
Example III
Toula calculates the cost of cementing the bottom and sides
of a circular pond. When all costs are considered, the job will
cost $175.85 per square metre of finished area. If the pond
has a radius of 3 feet, how much will she charge?
Example IV
› A school custodian must mark off a field that is 150 ft by 85
ft. His tape measure is marked in metres. What are the
dimensions of the field in metres ﴾to the nearest tenth of a
metre﴿?
3.3: Surface Area and Scale Factor
Surface Area: the total area of the surface of a three –
dimensional object

Geometric Net: a two-dimensional pattern used to construct

three-dimensional shapes

Scale Factor: the ratio of the lengths of corresponding sides

of two polygons
Difference Between Area and Surface Area
Area is expressed in units squared and talks about what
amount needs to be used to cover the surface.
For Example: A tailor may use this to determine how much
material is needed to cover a surface.

Surface Area is the total area required needed to cover ALL

faces of the object not just one side.
For Example: A painter might need to know much paint he
needs to cover an entire room and not just one wall.
› If you know how to find the area of a 2-D shape (using area
formula), you can find the surface area of 3-D objects by
breaking them down to their component surfaces and
adding the areas together .

› For Example: Each side of this cube is 2 inch x 2 inch.

What is the total area of the cube?
Example I
› Jim has been hired to make a jewellery box. If the box is 12
inches long, 6 inches deep, and 9 inches tall, how much
veneer will it take to cover the exterior assuming no waste?
Example II
› A cylindrical shipping tube is 48 inches tall and 6 inches in
diameter.
› a) What is its surface area in square inches?

› b) What is its surface area in square feet?

3.4: Volume
› Volume: the amount of space an object can occupy.

› Capacity: the maximum amount that a container can hold.

› The volume of a solid is a measure of how much space it

occupies. Volume is measured in cubic units (m3).
› The volume of a prism is calculated using the formula.
› Volume is the product of the area of the base times the
height of the object.
Example I
› A fish tank is a rectangular prism that is 30 inches long, 24
inches deep, and 18 inches high. How much water will it
hold:

a) In cubic inches?
b) In cubic feet?
Example II
› A garden bed is 4' by 3' and a 6" layer of soil will be spread
over the garden. A bag of soil contains 2 ft3 of soil. How
many bags are needed to cover the garden?
3.4: Volume
› The capacity of a container is the amount it can hold.
Capacity is the volume of a container. Capacity is often
used with liquid measures.
› In the SI, the basic unit of capacity is the litre. A litre is one
one thousandth of a cubic metre, or 1000 cubic
centimetres.
Imperial Units
In imperial units, capacity is measured in gallons:
› 4 quarts = 1 gallon
› 2 pints = 1 quart
› 2 cups = 1 pint
› However, the gallon has two different sizes:
1. The British gallon is approximately 4.5 litres and 1 pint is
20 fluid oz
2. The American (US) gallon is approximately 3.8 litres and
1 pint is 16 fluid oz.
› In measuring liquids for recipes, the US system is often
used.
› 1 teaspoon (tsp) = 5 millilitres (ml)
› 1 tablespoon (tbsp) = 15 ml
› 1 cup = 250 ml
Example I
› Paula is opening a French bakery and wants to make
authentic French recipes. All the recipes are given in metric
units, but she has imperial measuring devices. The crème
brulée recipe requires 500 mL of cream and 1.25 mL of
vanilla.

a) How much cream will she need, in cups?

b) How much vanilla will she need, in teaspoons?
c) How much cream will she need, in fluid ounces?