Kiera Dean 14436084

The Numerate Educator 314506

Assessment 3, think problem

Joined hands Think Problem

This Think Problem required me to find out the distance if all people in the classroom joined
hands. To solve this I had to:
1. Measure arm span of every student
2. Add the measurements together for a total
3. Measure one hand of every student
4. Add the hand measurements together for a total
5. Subtract hand measurement total from arm span total
6. Record answer
7. To make sure, got everyone in the class to join hands and another person to
measure the distance with a measuring tape
Throughout completing the think problem, materials that were useful were

Rulers

Calculators

Pen and paper

Measuring tape

Students in the class

Extra person to measure at the end

The mathematics I used to complete this think problem successfully, consisted of addition,
subtraction, measurement and estimation.
Others completing this activity chose to measure the distance if all people in the world joined
hands and calculating the distance the worlds population would cover and how many times
it would wrap around the earth.
In completing it successfully, the maths they needed was a lot more complex. It included
researching statistics of the worlds population of men, women and children, average heights
of them (in centimetres), because the height of a person is generally equal to their arm span,
average hand sizes of adults, male and female, and children (in centimetres) around the
world. Then a total of each of the categories of heights of men, women and children were
then multiplied by the number of people in those categories and added together, giving a
total number of centimetres.

Kiera Dean 14436084

The Numerate Educator 314506
Assessment 3, think problem
After calculating the distance of the worlds population of arm spans resulting in a total
number of centimetres, they then needed to research the average hand length of women,
men and children around the world and subtract the total number of hand lengths from the
total amount of heights (equal to arm spans). This would then give them a total amount of
centimetres which needs to be converted into metres or kilometres. Once this is done, they
needed to research the circumference of the earth and divide the kilometres of the worlds
population of arm spans by the distance of the earths circumference.
For this, others used mathematics such as addition, subtraction, estimation, measurement,
statistics, division and multiplication.
If this activity were to teach young children about measurement, I would alter it to their level
of understanding. Firstly I would teach about how to measure things differently, such as
using different materials like string, rulers, feet and hands. Then, the next most important
thing I think would be to teach about units of measurement like millimetres centimetres and
metres. Once an understanding has developed about different ways to measure and units of
measurement for height and width, children can then measure themselves with a partner
and record their heights on a whole class tally. For children who are at a high level of
achievement in maths, I could set them individual challenges to find out the heights of each
student in the class or year group and find the total height if they were stacked like a tower.
Conversions from centimetres to metres can also take place in this learning challenge.