Activity Overview
In this activity, students study English to Metric conversions. They investigate the relationship between inches and centimeters by measuring their height in these units and converting the measurements.
Before the Activity
Divide students evenly according to their height into two groups
See the attached PDF file for detailed instructions for this activity
Print pages 35 - 40 from the attached PDF file for your class
During the Activity
Distribute the pages to the class.
Follow the Activity procedures:
Use a ruler and compare the measure of an inch and a centimeter
Observe that 1 inch equals about 2.5 centimeters
Measure the height of one group in inches and the other in centimeters
Enter the data as lists
Calculate the mean height of the two groups
Observe that the mean of the centimeter list is larger than the mean of the inches list
Understand that the group which donates a penny for every centimeter, raises more money than the group which donates a penny for every inch
Convert the data in the inches list to centimeters, and store it in another list
Calculate the mean of this list, and compare it with the mean of the original centimeter list
Identify which group of students will donate more money
After the Activity
Students complete the Student Activity sheet.
Review student results:
As a class, discuss questions that appeared to be more challenging
Re-teach concepts as necessary