UNESCO resource kit - science and technology educa...

Paces and spaces
UNESCO Module 26: WorMng with numbers
It's useful to be able to make a map or plan - perhaps to help you organise your
vegetable garden, or an area for car parking. The first step is to learn a simple
way to measure distances.
step 1: Measure the length of your pace when you are walking naturally. To
do this, walk for 10 paces on flat ground in a straight line. Ask your partner to
measure the distance you have covered using a metre rule or tape measure.
Step 2: Repeat Step 1 five times. Put the results in a table,like the one shown.
Distance moved in 10 paces:
step 3: Look at your results. Do any of them seem wrong in some way?
Discard any obviously doubtful results. (The ones in the table look fine. You
would not expect to walk exactly the same distance each time, because your pace
varies slightly. An answer of, say, 9.1 m might have been suspect.)
step 4: Calculate the average length of 10 paces, and of one pace.
Average length of 10 paces = (8.3 + 8.1 + 8.4 + 8.3 + 8.2) m / 5 = 8.26 m
Average length of 1 pace = 0.826 m or 83 em
Step 5: Repeat Steps 1- 4 to find the length of your partner's pace. Compare
your answer with your partner's, and with others in the class. Do your results
seem reliable?
• Measure some distances by pacing them out. How far is it from one
classroom to another? From home to the shops or to the market? Can you
find the shortest route from home to the shops, or to the market, or to the
school?
• Make a map. You could map your school, or your route from home to school.
Indicate important features along the way, and the distances between them.
Compare your map with those produced by other members of the class.
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