S.no.

Content to be discussed
1 Heading 'Measurement of Length'
2. Multiples and Submultiples of Units

We can measure the length of our room or length of the table using a
measuring tape. Suppose the length of the room is 4 m and length of the table
is 1 m. So, its is convenient to express these measurement in metres. But what
about large distances, like distance of your school from your home say 2000
m or distance of Delhi from Agra i.e. 200000 m? Do you think we can express
such large distances in metres? No. Similarly, the thickness of a coin is about
0.0015 m. It is again not convenient to express such small quantities in
metres.
To avoid this inconvenience, we use
• Multiples of standard units to make large measurements
• Fractions or submultiples of standard units to make small
measurements.
3. Prefixes used in SI units

Here are some prefixes used in the SI units

4 Here are some commonly used units of length, mass and time.

So we can say that distance of Delhi from Agra is 200 km, distance of your
school from home is 2 km and thickness of coin is 1.5 mm. These numbers
are easier to write and to use in calculations.
5 Rules for writing symbols

Let us look at some rules to write the symbols of units.

• Symbols are not followed by a full stop.
• Symbols are not written in the plural i.e 10 kilograms will be written as
10 kg not 10 kgs.

Q by teacher: what is the correct way to write 40 metres: 40 m or 40 ms?

Ans: 40 m

6 Ans. (a) Metre

(b) Kilogram
(c) Seconds
7 Ans:
1. 1 decade = 10 years
1 year = 365 days
1 day = 24 hours
1 hours = 60 min
1 min = 60 sec

1 decade = 10 x 1 year
= 10 x 365 days
= 10 x 365 x 1 day
= 10 x 365 x 24 hours
= 10 x 365 x 24 x 1 hour
= 10 x 365 x 24 x 60 min
= 10 x 365 x 24 x 60 x 1 min
= 10 x 365 x 24 x 60 x 60 seconds
= 315,360,000 seconds.
8 Importance of Estimation
Scientific experiments → Accurate Measurements
Cooking → Estimations
Though there is a importance of accurate measurements, yet they are not
always required. Let us take an example to clarify it. Suppose a scientist is
conducting experiment and she has to add 2 g of a salt to 5 mL of a chemical.
For this, the scientist will use appropriate instruments to weigh and measure
accurately. But what if the same scientist has to add 2g of a salt to a curry
cooking in the kitchen. Do she need to weigh it accurately before putting in
the curry?
No, she will estimate how much will be 2 g of a salt and add it to the curry. If
by mistake she adds 1.9 g of the salt to the chemical, she may get wrong
results but if she adds 1.9 g of salt to the curry, then it will hardly cause any
difference in the taste of currry. So, we saw that accurate measurements are
not always necessary. It it sometimes sufficient to estimate the measurement.
But that too is a skill and develops with time and experience.
9 Standard Methods for measuring Length
Let us now look in detail at measurement of length.
Depth, width, thickness, height and distance are all measurement of length.
Some commonly used instruments for measuring length are
• rulers: used for measuring length of line segments
• metre scale: used for measuring length of straight objects
• measuring tape: used for measuring lengths of curved surfaces.
Measurements done through these instruments are also known as standard
 methods of measuring length.

Q by student: Can we use rulers to measure length of straight objects?

Yes, if the objects are smaller than the size of ruler. For bigger objects ,
we prefer metre scale.
10 Measuring Line Segment using Ruler

Let us consider a line segment AB. To measure the length of this segment, we
need to follow these steps:
• Place the ruler along the line with its 0-point coinciding with point A on
the line
• note the reading of the ruler at point B. It will give the length of the line
segment
11 Measuring Length

Lets now look at some precautions while measuring length.

• Keep the ruler exactly along the length to be measured. Here in the
figure (a) the ruler is not along the length of the pencil which will give
incorrect measurement.
• Do not use worn out instruments or instruments with erased markings.
Here in the figure (b) length of a pencil is measured on a ruler with
worn out 0-end.

12 Measuring Length
• Keep your eyes vertically above the point where the measurement is to
be taken. Here in the figure c, a ruler is being used to measure the
length of the pencil.
13 Measuring Length of Curved Lines -Using a Thread

* Image of a thread measuring length of a curve

So this was about measurement of straight line and objects. What about
measuring a curved line?
We can use a thread or a divider to measure the length of a curved line. Lets
see how.
Using a Thread: Take a thread and tie a knot at its one end. Place the thread
along the whole line keeping it taut or do so in small sections. Then place the
used length of thread along a ruler keeping the knot at 0-end. This will give
you measure of your curved line. You can also measure small portions of the
curve in similar manner and add them to get the final length.
14 Ans : Use a thread and put it around the circumference of the cup. Then
measure the length of the thread using a scale.
15 Rest and Motion

• Image of a car changing its position from A to B.

• Image of car at rest
Let's suppose you are standing on the roadside. A car is moving on the road.
We will name it as Car 1. The Car 1 changes its position from A to B after
some time. So, for us, Car 1 is in motion. Now take another car named as Car
2 which is parked on the roadside. We cannot see Car 2 changing its position
with time. So, Car 2 is not in motion. It is said to be at rest. All the objects
which are fixed at their places like the trees, buildings etc are at rest. So, how
can we say when an object is in motion or not?
16 Object at rest

An object is said to be at rest if its position does not changes with time with
respect to the other stationary objects around it
For example, the chairs of the dinning table are at rest with respect to the
dining table, the passengers sitting in a moving bus are said to be at rest with
respect to the driver of the same bus, because their position do not change
with respect to the driver.

17 Object in motion
An object is said to be in motion if it changes its position with time and with
respect to other stationary objects around it.
Examples: A moving Car, flying bird

18 Lets look at a question. Suppose you are sitting inside a bus and your friend is
standing on the roadside. Decide whether you are in motion or at rest with
respect to the given objects.

Ans: An object is on motion or not depends on the object of reference in

relation to which the position of object is considered.

(a) For the bus, you are sitting at one place and not changing position in
relation to it. So, with respect to bus, you are at rest

(b) For your friend, as the bus is moving forward, you are also moving
forward, changing your position in relation to him. So, with respect to your
friend, you are in motion.