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What’s it for: Measurement
Measuring helps us to understand the size or amount of things. There are lots of different things we can measure.
When we measure we are comparing something, often to formal units of measurement (such as centimetres on a ruler, minutes on a clock or kilograms on a scale), but we can also measure informally by comparing things to each other and estimating size or amount.
Measurement can be formal or informal and we do it pretty much every day. For example:
- checking the time to make sure we keep to our schedule, estimating how long it will take to do something or get somewhere
- looking at a parking space to decide whether it is big enough to fit our cars
- checking measurements of clothes or other things we buy online to make sure they will be the right size
- measuring ingredients, temperatures and time when cooking, or estimating if we aren’t using a recipe
- weighing groceries when shopping
- checking the distance to somewhere we want to go (it’s still measurement when satnav tells us how far it is!)
- checking the temperature before we go out to decide what to wear
- depending on our hobbies we may also be getting in lots more measuring – many sports need measurements to determine a result or are timed, craft activities and DIY often need accurate measurements to get a good result, timing is essential in music and dance, gardening needs understanding of volume when measuring or estimating quantity of materials needed.
Employment
Every job requires some measurement. The amount, type and precision of measurement needed varies.
All jobs involve measuring and managing time in some capacity. This may include:
- setting appointments or meetings and keeping to schedules
- estimating or calculating how long a task or job will take
- even just making sure you work your required hours in a day.
Some jobs may require very precise timing. For example, pilots and air traffic controllers, professional athletes, racing teams, scientists, musicians, dancers, sound engineers, surgeons, military personnel, project managers and event coordinators.
A huge range of jobs also involve other forms of measurement. This may range from basic to highly specialised use. For example, sales workers (such as retail or real estate workers) need to understand or take basic measurements to describe what they are selling accurately or help the customer find the right sized product, and food preparation workers regularly measure ingredients, temperature and size.
Jobs making, designing or fixing things rely on frequent, precise measurement to make things that work, are the right size or get parts to fit together. For example, builders, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, tailors, fashion designers, architects, graphic designers, mechanics, art conservators.
Some jobs rely on frequent and specialised measurements. For example, medical jobs need accurate measurements to assess and treat illnesses or monitor growth and health. For example, measuring blood pressure or BMI, or measuring the size of a tumor for removal, taking a patient’s temperature or measuring the right dose of medication. Similarly, scientific jobs (such as structural engineers, aeronautical engineers, forensic experts, meteorologists, geologists, lab technicians, astrophysicists) require specialised and precise measurement skills.
Summary
Measurement is everywhere in our daily and working lives. Helping children with their measurement skills sets them up for all the things we do every day that rely on measurement, and also gives them a solid foundation for expanding these skills if they want to take on a career or hobby that requires more specialised measurement skills.