MEASUREMENT

MA.B.1.2.1 uses concrete and graphic models to develop procedures for solving problems related to measurement including length, weight, time, temperature, perimeter, area, volume, and angle.

MA.B.1.2.2 solves real-world problems involving length, weight, perimeter, area, capacity, volume, time, temperature, and angles.

MA.B.3.2.1 solves real-world problems involving estimates of measurements, including length, time, weight, temperature, money, perimeter, area, and volume.

PROBLEM

A square room that is 20 by 20 units needs to be tiled. There are two kinds of tiles available. One is a 5 by 5 units, and the other a 5 by 8 units. Both tiles cost the same.


Which tile would be the best choice?

Let's analyze using the 5 by 5 units tile:

  • We need to find the area of the room. Since the room is square, we multiply =>  20X20 = 400 (square units). This is the area we'll need to cover.
  • If we use the 5 by 5 tile, the area of this tile is => 5X5=25 (square units)
  • Now, we need to find out how many of these tiles are needed to cover the 400 square units room. That is done by dividing =>  400/25= 16. If we use two colors, the room would look like this:

Let's analyze using the 8 by 5 units tile:

  • We need to find the area of the room. Since the room is square, we multiply =>  20X20 = 400 (square units). This is the area we'll need to cover.
  • If we use the 8 by 5 tile, the area of this tile is => 8X5=40 (square units)
  • Now, we need to find out how many of these tiles are needed to cover the 400 square units room. That is done by dividing =>  400/40= 10. If we use two colors, the room would look like this:

Conclusions:

It is better to use the 5 by 5 units tile for the following reasons:


  • The room is a square. Therefore, we should use square tiles that fit perfectly.
  • We don't need to cut any of the tiles to make it fit the floor.
    The design looks better.
  • If we used the 5 by 8 tile, we would need to cut the last two tiles into halves to fit the floor. This design would not look best.

Assignment:


We need to tile a rectangular room that is 20 by 16 units. There are two kinds of tiles at Home Depot. One is a 4 by 4 units and cost $5.50 a tile. The other is an 8 by 8 and cost $22.00 a tile.

  • Which tile would be cheaper to use?
  • Which tile would you use? Explain and illustrate.
  • Which tile would you not use? Explain. Illustrate.
  • Illustrate your final choice using graph paper. Be creative with your color choice!

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This page updated: Sunday, August 30, 2009