HBMT3103 PDF

Faculty of Education and Languages
HBMT3103
Teaching of Elementary
Mathematics Part III
Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

HBMT3103
TEACHING OF
ELEMENTARY
MATHEMATICS
PART III
Mahmood Othman
Goh Thian Hee

Project Directors: Prof Dato’ Dr Mansor Fadzil
Assoc Prof Dr Chung Han Tek
Open University Malaysia
Module Writers: Dr Mahmood Othman
Goh Thian Hee

Institut Pendidikan Guru
Kampus Pulau Pinang
Moderators: Siti Farina Sheikh Mohamed
Goh Thian Hee

Institut Pendidikan Guru
Kampus Pulau Pinang
Developed by: Centre for Instructional Design and Technology

Open University Malaysia
First Edition, April 2008

Second Edition, August 2013
Third Edition, August 2015 (rs)
Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM), August 2015, HBMT3103
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means
without the written permission of the President, Open University Malaysia (OUM).

Table of Contents
Course Guide ix–xiv
Topic 1 Whole Numbers 1

1.1 Reading and Writing Whole Numbers 2
1.2 Place Value 5
1.3 Rounding Off Whole Numbers 9
1.4 Addition and Subtraction within the Range of 100,000 11
1.4.1 Adding Numbers of Two or More Digits 12
1.4.2 Subtract One or Two Numbers 15
1.5 Multiplication and Division within the Range of 100,000 19
1.5.1 What is Multiplication? 19
1.5.2 Multiply Numbers with Two or More Digits 23
1.5.3 What is Division? 25
1.5.4 Divide by One, Two or Three Digit Numbers 26
1.6 Multiplication and Division in Everyday Life 29
1.7 Mixed Operations with Addition and Subtraction 31
Summary 35
Key Terms 35
References 36
Topic 2 Fractions 37
2.1 Idea of Fraction 38
2.1.1 Proper Fractions 38
2.1.2 Improper Fractions 40
2.1.3 Comparing and Arranging Fractions 40
2.1.4 Equivalent Fractions 42
2.2 Addition and Subtraction of Fractions 45
2.2.1 Adding and Subtracting Fractions with the Same
and Different Denominators 45
2.2.2 Solving Problems Involving Fractions 49
Summary 53
Key Terms 53
References 53

iv  TABLE OF CONTENTS
Topic 3 Decimals 54
3.1 Decimal Numbers 55
3.1.1 Converting Fractions to Decimals and Vice Versa 58
3.1.2 Converting Mixed Numbers to Fractions and
Vice Versa 60
3.2 Addition and Subtraction of Decimals 62
3.2.1 Addition of Decimal Numbers 62
3.2.2 Subtraction of Decimal Numbers 63
3.2.3 Addition and Subtraction of Three Decimal Numbers 64
3.3 Multiplication and Division of Decimals 66
3.3.1 Multiplication of Decimals 66
3.3.2 Division of Decimals 68
3.3.3 Multiplication and Division of Decimals in
Standard Written Method 69
Summary 73
Key Terms 73
References 73
Topic 4 Money 74
4.1 Reading and Writing the Value of Money 75
4.2 Addition and Subtraction Involving Money 78
4.3 Multiplication and Division Involving Money 80
4.3.1 Multiplication Involving Money 80
4.3.2 Division Involving Money 82
4.4 Mixed Operations Involving Money 85
4.5 Rounding Off Money to the Nearest Ringgit 87
Summary 89
Key Terms 90
References 90
Topic 5 Time 91
5.1 Minutes, Hours, Days, Months, Years and Decades 92
5.1.1 Relationship between Units of Time 93
5.1.2 Time Scheduling 94
5.1.3 Reading a Calendar 95
5.1.4 Converting Units of Time 97
5.2 Addition and Subtraction Involving Time 105
5.2.1 Addition Involving Units of Time 105
5.2.2 Subtraction Involving Units of Time 108

TABLE OF CONTENTS  v
5.3 Multiplication and Division Involving Time 111

5.3.1 Multiplication Involving Units of Time 111
5.3.2 Division Involving Units of Time 112
5.3.3 Solving Problems Involving Time 114
5.3.4 Time Duration 116
Summary 120
Key Terms 121
References 121
Topic 6 Length 122

6.1 Measuring Lengths 123
6.2 Relationship between Units of Length 124
6.3 Convert Units of Length 126
6.4 Addition and Subtraction Involving Units of Length 130
6.5 Multiplication and Division Involving Units of Length 135
6.6 Solving Problems Involving Length 142
Summary 144
Key Terms 144
References 144
Topic 7 Mass 145

7.1 Measuring Mass 145
7.2 Relationship between Kilograms and Grams 147
7.3 Addition and Subtraction Involving Units of Mass 151
7.4 Multiplication and Division Involving Units of Mass 155
7.5 Solving Problems Involving Mass 160
Summary 163
Key Terms 164
References 164
Topic 8 Volume of Liquid 165

8.1 Measuring Volume of Liquid 166
8.2 Relationship between Units of Volume of Liquid 168
8.3 Addition and Subtraction Involving Units of Volume of
Liquid 171
8.4 Multiplication and Division Involving Units of Volume of
Liquid 178
8.5 Solving Problems Involving Units of Volume of Liquid 184
Summary 187
Key Terms 187
References 187

vi  TABLE OF CONTENTS
Topic 9 Shape and Space 188

9.1 Two-Dimensional Space 188
9.1.1 Identifying Two-Dimensional (2D) Shapes 189
9.1.2 Measuring and Identifying Dimensions of 2D Shapes 192
9.2 Perimeter and Area 193
9.2.1 Understanding the Meaning of Perimeter 193
9.2.2 Understanding the Meaning of Area 197
9.2.3 Calculate the Area 198
9.3 Three-Dimensional (3D) Space 201
9.3.1 Identify Dimensions of Cubes and Cuboids 201
9.3.2 Unit Cubes 202
9.3.3 Volume of Cubes and Cuboids 203
Summary 207
Key Terms 207
References 208
Topic 10 Data Handling 209

10.1 Pictographs 210
10.1.1 Describing and Interpreting Pictographs 210
10.1.2 Constructing Pictographs 214
10.2 Bar Graphs 217
10.2.1 Describing and Interpreting Bar Graphs 217
10.2.2 Constructing Bar Graphs 220
10.3 Solving Problems Involving Pictographs and Bar Graphs 224
Summary 229
Key Terms 230
References 230

COURSE GUIDE

COURSE GUIDE  ix
COURSE GUIDE DESCRIPTION

You must read this Course Guide carefully from the beginning to the end. It tells
you briefly what the course is about and how you can work your way through the
course material. It also suggests the amount of time you are likely to spend in
order to complete the course successfully. Please keep on referring to the Course
Guide as you go through the course material as it will help you to clarify
important study components or points that you might miss or overlook.
INTRODUCTION
HBMT3103 Teaching of Elementary Mathematics Part III is one of the
courses offered by the Faculty of Education and Languages at Open University
Malaysia (OUM). This course is worth 3 credit hours and should be covered over
8 to 15 weeks.
COURSE AUDIENCE
This course is offered to students undertaking the Bachelor of Teaching (with
Honours) programme, majoring in Mathematics.
As an open and distance learner, you should be able to learn independently and
optimise the learning modes and environment available to you. Before you begin
this course, please ensure that you have the right course materials, understand the
course requirements, as well as know how the course is conducted.
STUDY SCHEDULE
It is a standard OUM practice that learners accumulate 40 study hours for every
credit hour. As such, for a three-credit hour course, you are expected to spend 120
study hours. Table 1 gives an estimation of how the 120 study hours could be
accumulated.

x  COURSE GUIDE
Table 1: Estimation of Time Accumulation of Study Hours
Study
Study Activities
Hours
Briefly go through the course content and participate in initial discussion 3
Study the module 60
Attend 3 to 5 tutorial sessions 10
Online participation 12
Revision 15
Assignment(s), Test(s) and Examination(s) 20
Total Study Hours 120
COURSE OUTCOMES
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
1." Explain the concepts, definitions, rules and principles related to numbers,
operations, money, time, fractions, decimals, measurements and space;
2." Apply effective strategies in teaching the stipulated content area;
3." Use the language of mathematics effectively; and
4." Conclude on the importance and beauty of mathematics.
COURSE SYNOPSIS
This course consists of 10 topics which will assist you to achieve the identified
objectives. Each of these topics is described briefly as follows:
Topic 1 is a continuation of the same topic learned in Teaching of Elementary

Mathematics Part II. The operations cover the content area of whole numbers of
up to 100,000. This topic is presented in the simplest form. It begins with the
reading and writing of whole numbers followed by learning the place value of the
numbers within the same range. You are guided on how to teach place value and
rounding off whole numbers. The next part in this topic deals with addition and
subtraction operations of two to four numbers to the highest total of 100,000.
Mixed operations that involve addition and subtraction will also be introduced
here. Multiplication and division is the next topic of discussion. For these four

COURSE GUIDE  xi
basic operations, some real-life examples are shown to apply these concepts and
deliver them to your class efficiently.
Topic 2 discusses fraction. Fraction is used in almost every type of measurement

– time, weight, length, distance and others. Fraction, addition and subtraction of
fractions, and multiplication and division of fractions are presented in this topic.
Topic 3 demonstrates how to read and write a decimal number in words. You will
further learn how to convert fractions to decimals and vice versa, mixed numbers
to fractions and vice versa, comparing and arranging decimals numbers. This
topic also discusses the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of two
decimal numbers. Lastly, you will learn how to write multiplication and division
of decimals in the standard written method.
Topic 4 illustrates how to read and write the value of money. We also discuss
addition, subtraction, multiplication and division involving money. Various
activities are planned for you to effectively teach mixed operations in solving
problems involving money.
Topic 5 demonstrates the basic operations of units of time. It is very important to

manage time so that we can schedule our time and plan our tasks properly and
effectively. This topic highlights how to teach reading and writing the time,
relationship between units of time, addition and subtraction involving time,
multiplication and subtraction involving time. Also included is understanding the
duration of time.
Topic 6 discusses units of length. You will learn about the measurements of
lengths in standard units and also the relationship between these units.
Mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
are applied on them. Lastly, we will look at how to use these skills in solving
everyday life problems.
Topic 7 explains the relationship between units of mass and how to convert the
units from one to another. Once you have gained the preliminary knowledge, you
will be able to do simple operations just like in the previous topic but now
involving mass. In the last part of this topic, you will see some examples of
everyday problems.
Topic 8 covers how to measure volume of liquid in standard units, understand the
relationship between units of volume of liquid and solving problems by using
addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

xii  COURSE GUIDE
Topic 9 is devised for teachers to teach a lesson on object of two and three-
dimensional spaces. First, you will learn how to identify and measure two-
dimensional objects. Next, you will learn about perimeter and area and also to
calculate them. Lastly, you will learn how to identify three-dimensional spaces
such as cubes and cuboids. Finding volumes of cubes and cuboids are also
covered in this section.
Topic 10 discusses pictographs and bar graphs. You will learn how to describe
and interpret them and also to construct them to display data. The last section
shows some problem-solving exercise involving pictographs and bar graphs based
on real life situations.
TEXT ARRANGEMENT GUIDE

Before you go through this module, it is important that you note the text
arrangement. Understanding the text arrangement will help you to organise your
study of this course in a more objective and effective way. Generally, the text
arrangement for each topic is as follows:
Learning Outcomes: This section refers to what you should achieve after you
have completely covered a topic. As you go through each topic, you should
frequently refer to these learning outcomes. By doing this, you can continuously
gauge your understanding of the topic.
Self-Check: This component of the module is inserted at strategic locations

throughout the module. It may be inserted after one sub-section or a few sub-
sections. It usually comes in the form of a question. When you come across this
component, try to reflect on what you have already learnt thus far. By attempting
to answer the question, you should be able to gauge how well you have
understood the sub-section(s). Most of the time, the answers to the questions can
be found directly from the module itself.
Activity: Like Self-Check, the Activity component is also placed at various

locations or junctures throughout the module. This component may require you to
solve questions, explore short case studies, or conduct an observation or research. It
may even require you to evaluate a given scenario. When you come across an
Activity, you should try to reflect on what you have gathered from the module and
apply it to real situations. You should, at the same time, engage yourself in higher
order thinking where you might be required to analyse, synthesise and evaluate
instead of only having to recall and define.

COURSE GUIDE  xiii
Summary: You will find this component at the end of each topic. This
component helps you to recap the whole topic. By going through the summary,
you should be able to gauge your knowledge retention level. Should you find
points in the summary that you do not fully understand, it would be a good idea
for you to revisit the details in the module.
Key Terms: This component can be found at the end of each topic. You should
go through this component to remind yourself of important terms or jargon used
throughout the module. Should you find terms here that you are not able to
explain, you should look for the terms in the module.
References: The References section is where a list of relevant and useful

textbooks, journals, articles, electronic contents or sources can be found. The list
can appear in a few locations such as in the Course Guide (at the References
section), at the end of every topic or at the back of the module. You are
encouraged to read or refer to the suggested sources to obtain the additional
information needed and to enhance your overall understanding of the course.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
There is no prior knowledge requirement.
ASSESSMENT METHOD
Please refer to myINSPIRE.
REFERENCES
References are listed at the end of each topic.

xiv  COURSE GUIDE
TAN SRI DR ABDULLAH SANUSI (TSDAS) DIGITAL

LIBRARY
The TSDAS Digital Library has a wide range of print and online resources for the
use of its learners. This comprehensive digital library, which is accessible through
the OUM portal, provides access to more than 30 online databases comprising
e-journals, e-theses, e-books and more. Examples of databases available are
EBSCOhost, ProQuest, SpringerLink, Books24x7, InfoSci Books, Emerald
Management Plus and Ebrary Electronic Books. As an OUM learner, you are
encouraged to make full use of the resources available through this library.

Topic  Whole
1 Numbers
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

1. Recognise whole numbers;
2. Identify place value of numbers up to 100,000;
3. Compare and round off numbers;
4. Add, subtract, multiply and divide within the range of 100,000;
5. Apply addition, subtraction, multiplication and division in everyday
life; and
6. Perform mixed operations involving addition and subtraction.
 INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the first topic of this module. You will begin this topic with the
reading and writing of whole numbers within the range of 100,000. Next, you will
learn about place value of numbers and rounding off numbers.
The next part in this topic deals with addition and subtraction operations of two to
four numbers to the highest total of 100,000. Mixed operations that involve
addition and subtraction will be introduced here. Multiplication and division are
the next topics of discussion. You will find that multiplication is the repeated
addition of a unit. On the other hand, division involves determining how many
times one number is contained in another. Real-life examples of these four basic
operations are shown to enable you to apply these concepts and deliver them to
your class efficiently.

2  TOPIC 1 WHOLE NUMBERS
1.1 READING AND WRITING WHOLE

NUMBERS
Let us start off this module by looking at how to read and write whole numbers.
This involves reading and writing whole numbers from 1 up to 100,000. How do
you start off these lessons in your class? You explain to students the meaning of
whole numbers and ask them where they can see and experience numbers. Then
you can begin these lessons by doing some simple activities such as:
 Counting the total number of thumb tacks in the classroom;

 Counting the total number of pencils that pupils have; and
 Counting the total number of books in the classroom.
(a) Recognising Whole Numbers

Based on the previous activities, we can conclude that the students are now
familiar with whole numbers. This will help them to read the numbers.
However, before they can read whole numbers, they have to recognise them.
Basically, recognising whole numbers is done through counting the numbers
in groups.
Let us look at a simple example of counting numbers in groups of ten

thousands.
(i) Show students a picture of ten baskets (refer to Figure 1.1), which
contain ten thousand rambutans each.
(ii) Ask students to count one by one until the tenth basket.

TOPIC 1 WHOLE NUMBERS  3
Figure 1.1: Sample exercise
(iii) Ask students to add up all the rambutans.
(iv) Tell them how ten baskets of ten thousand rambutans make a hundred
thousand.
Alternatively, you can explain that ten times ten thousand rambutans is
equal to one hundred thousand rambutans.
10,000 + 10,000 + 10,000 + 10,000 + 10,000 + 10,000 + 10,000 +

10,000 + 10,000 + 10,000 = 100,000
(v) Then, continue the exercise with different sets of number groups:
hundreds and thousands. Repeat the exercise until the students
understand the process of counting.
(b) Reading and Writing Whole Numbers up to 100,000

Now, how will you teach your students how to read and write whole
numbers up to 100,000? Start off by showing some examples of numbers
that appear in our daily lives such as postcodes in letters, receipts, bills and
etc. Let the students see and compare for themselves the differences in these
numbers by just looking at the number of digits. Then, give them a general
idea of how to read and write by providing suitable examples. Initially,

students may seem confused and find it difficult to understand. But go

through it anyway as the next topic on place values would be able to
enhance their skills in reading and writing.
Figure 1.2 (a): Example of postcode
Figure 1.2 (b): Example of a cheque

For example, how do we read the postcode in Figure 1.2 (a)? The postcode
is read as forty thousand four hundred and fifty. On the other hand, the
amount on the cheque in Figure 1.2 (b) is read as Ringgit Malaysia twenty
one thousand three hundred and twenty three only.
Now that you have shown students some examples of reading numbers,
guide them in writing the numbers. Writing numbers means the changing of
words into numbers.
Try these activities in order to teach your students how to write numbers.
(i) Give your students a number in words: ninety five thousand, two
hundred and forty three. Explain in a simple way as follows:
 Read the numbers until thousand, for example, ninety five
thousand. Write it in numbers and it will be 95,000.
 Then, read the last few numbers, for example, two hundred and
forty three. Write it in numbers and it will be 243.
 Add the two numbers: 95,000 + 243 = 95,243.
(ii) Give another example for the students to try out. Guide them through it
first and explain that this will be further explained later.
1.2 PLACE VALUE

Recognising the place value of a number is very important and is done by reading
the number. By knowing the place value of numbers, we are able to compare
them.
(a) Knowing Place Value of Numbers Up to 100,000

(i) Give your students a number in words such as sixty two thousand,
one hundred and thirty four. Ask them to read the number and show
them the way to write the number as illustrated in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1: Sample Exercise
Thousand Hundred Ten One

Ten One
6 2 1 3 4
(ii) Provide an empty table like the one above to the students. Read to the
students a number in words. For example, sixty two thousand, one
hundred and thirty four. Ask them to write the number in the table
provided.
(iii) Test their understanding again by writing the number 67,321 on the
board and reading it loudly as sixty seven thousand, three hundred
and twenty one. Then, fill up another table with the respective digits.
Lastly, ask the students to pronounce the number in words. The digit 6
has the value of 60,000 in number. It is spelt as sixty thousand. Next,
you can continue with thousands, hundreds, tens and ones. You can
check their answers by using these guidelines:
 Combine all digits in words and add the word ‘and’ after hundred.
 Hence, 67,321 is pronounced as sixty seven thousand, three
hundred and twenty one.
ACTIVITY 1.1
Convert the following words into numbers:

1. Seventeen thousand two hundred and twenty.
2. Nine thousand six hundred and fifty three.
(b) Comparing and Arranging Numbers

Before students can start to learn about arranging numbers, they need to
know how to compare a set of two or more numbers. When we compare
numbers, we want to know which number is bigger and which is smaller.
Once the values of bigger and smaller numbers are distinguished, they can
be arranged in ascending order from smaller to bigger values or in
descending order from bigger to smaller values. Comparison plays an
important role in arranging the numbers. There are two ways to arrange
numbers, as explained in Table 1.2.

Table 1.2: Two Methods of Arranging Numbers
Method Description
Ascending or Count On Arranging of numbers from small to big
Descending or Count Back Arranging of numbers from big to small
(i) Comparing Numbers

You can use the following algorithm as a guide to compare two
numbers.
Algorithm for Comparing the Digit Place Value (DPV)

IF DPV for both data is equal
Then bigger numbers = Number with bigger first digit number
(Compare from left to right)
ELSE
IF digit place value for both data is NOT equal
Then bigger numbers = The number that has bigger DPV
Example 1: Comparing Numbers of Equal DPV

Compare these numbers:
87,423 79,324
Follow the steps below:
Step 1: Is Digit Place Value (DPV) for both data equal?

Answer is YES
Step 2: Compare DPV from left to right for both data (IF same DPV
move from left to right). DPV of first data, 8, is greater than first DPV
of second data, 7. Therefore, 87,423 is greater than 79,324.
Example 2: Comparing Numbers of NOT Equal DPV

Compare these numbers:
87,423 9,324

Follow the steps below to get the answer:
Step 1: Is Digit Place Value for both data equal?

Answer is NO
87,423 has 5 DPV
9,324 has 4 DPV
Hence, 87,423 is greater than 9,324.
(ii) Arranging Numbers

Let us look at how numbers can be arranged. There are two ways of
arranging numbers – ascending and descending.
Arranging numbers in an ascending order is done by listing (count on)

in line numbers from smaller to bigger values. In contrast, when
arranging numbers in descending order, the numbers are (count back)
listed in line from bigger to smaller values. To visualise this, look at
Figure 1.3.
Figure 1.3: Ascending vs. descending
Steps to follow for Count On

Step 1: Compare the numbers
Step 2: Select the smallest number
Step 3: Place the smallest number on the left
Step 4: Look at the other numbers and repeat Step 3 until ALL data
have been listed in Line

Example 3:
Count On
59,820 58,820 57,820 56,820 55,820 54,820
Counting in a descending order (count back) also involves four steps

as below:
Steps to follow for Count Back

Step 1: Compare the numbers
Step 2: Select the biggest number
Step 3: Place on the right a smaller number
Step 4: Look at the other numbers and repeat Step 3 until ALL data
have been listed in Line
Example 4:
28,982 28,972 28,962 28,952 28,942 28,932
Count Back
1.3 ROUNDING OFF WHOLE NUMBERS

Rounding off numbers is a way to estimate or approximate a whole number to the
nearest place digit. For example, you may need to round off the figure of today’s
total sales. Your mother may want to round off the figures of expenditure on
electricity bill, food, leisure and so on. Bear in mind that rounding off whole
numbers is not exact. It is a round number. When the actual number of objects is
not important, you can round off whole numbers to figure out an estimated
amount of the quantity.
Firstly, how can we describe rounding off numbers? Rounding off numbers means
you want to find the nearest approximation to a given number.
For example, you line up a list of numbers between 20 and 30. Now, you pick 27
as the number to be rounded off. Ask your students whether 27 is nearer to
20 or 30.
The students will notice that 30 is closer to 27 compared to 20. Therefore, 27

rounded off to the nearest ten is 30.
How about rounding off a whole number to a given place value? The following
steps may be used to round off a whole number to a specific place value. See
Table 1.3.
Table 1.3: Steps for Rounding Off
Step 1 Locate the digit in the rounding place. Look at the right digit.
Step 2 Is the digit greater or lesser than If greater than 5, then add 1 to the
5? rounding digit; otherwise, add 0.
Step 3 Replace all numbers by zeros to the right digit
Round Off Numbers to the Nearest Ten, Hundred, Thousand and Ten
Thousand
How do we round off 53 to the nearest ten? Follow the steps below:
(a) First, you have to locate the digit in the rounding place, that is, ten: 53.
Then, look at the digit at the right, 3.
(b) Digit 3 is less than 5, so we add 0 to 5 (rounding digit).
(c) Replace three with zero to the right.
The answer is 50.
Example 5:
Round off 452 to the nearest hundred.
(a) First, you have to locate the digit in the rounding place, that is, hundred: 4
52. Then, look at the digit at the right, 5.
(b) Digit 5 is equal to 5, then add 1 to 4 (rounding digit).
(c) Replace with the digits to the right with zeros (0).
The answer is 500.

Example 6:
Round off 94,851 to the nearest thousand.
(a) First, you have to locate the digit in the rounding place that is thousand:
94,851. Then, look at the digit at the right of 4, which is 8.
(b) Digit 8 is greater than 5, add 1 to 4 (rounding digit).
(c) Replace the digits to the right with zeros (0).
The answer is 95,000.
ACTIVITY 1.2
Round off to the nearest:
1. Ten 3. Thousand
56 5,236
644 32,644
9,878 90,878
2. Hundred 4. Ten Thousand

156 54,036
5,110 27,644
8,779 99,866
1.4 ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION WITHIN

THE RANGE OF 100,000
This section will begin with addition operations of two to four numbers up to the
highest total of 100,000. Next, you will perform subtraction of two numbers
within 100,000. Lastly, you will learn how to do subtraction in the range of
100,000. For each operation, there are some real-life examples to help you
understand and apply these concepts.

1.4.1 Adding Numbers of Two or More Digits

How do we add numbers of two or more digits? To add numbers of two or more
digits, follow these two steps:
Step 1: The numbers of place value are arranged in the same column.
Step 2: Add from the right to the left column. Leave one digit of the sum and
carry whatever number more than one digit to the left column.
Example 7:
A storekeeper needs to count the total number of oranges and grapes that he has.
There are 2,379 oranges and 23,034 grapes in his store. What is the total number
of fruits?
First, arrange the numbers in the same column so that the ones, tens, hundreds,
etc., place values are in the same column. Note that it does not matter which
number is above or below. Show the alternative way to the students.

Example 8:
Salim works in a bookstore. His boss needs to know the total number of items that
they have. The items that they have are 3,124 books, 13,824 magazines and
23,512 exercise books. Sum up the items that he has.
First, arrange the numbers in the same column so that all ones, tens, hundreds,
thousands and ten thousands place values are in the same column as shown below:
Addition is normally used in our daily life, like paying for the things that we buy
at the cashier counter. As a teacher, you should explain the importance of addition
in our real lives. By doing this, the pupils will understand better and appreciate the
importance of mathematics. The next example will illustrate this point.

Example 9:
In July 2007, 21,991 people visited Langkawi Island and 49,889 people visited
Padang Besar, Perlis. Find the total number of tourists in July 2007.
To guide pupils in answering this question, ask them to do some analysis as

follows:
What is given? Number of tourists visiting Langkawi Island (21,991) and

Padang Besar (49,889).
Next, what should be done? Find the total number of tourists in July 2007.
Operation:
You can solve this by writing the following: 21,991 + 49,889 = ?
Or
1 1 1 1
2 1 9 9 1
 4 9 8 8 9
7 1 8 8 0
Checking the Answer:

To check the answer by approximation, you just round off each number to the
largest place value.
Example: 20,000 + 50,000 = 70,000, which is close to the actual answer.
SELF-CHECK 1.1
You are given RM17,577 and RM4,944. Find the total amount of money
and check your answer with your classmates.

ACTIVITY 1.3
1. Find the sum of

(a) 3,531 and 2,412
(b) 67,532 and 24,104
(c) 50,123 and 871 and 1,234
2. Based on the digits below, form the largest and the smallest
numbers. Hence, find the sum of the numbers formed.
8 9 0 5 1
3. Find the missing number: 32,010 + 51,000 + ? = 83,549
4. Johari is carrying out his daily inspection of inventory of certain

books. In all, there are 2,345 exercise books, 64,333 primary school
books and 56,879 secondary books. What is the total number of
books?
5. Putra Palace in Kangar, Perlis has 72 single rooms, 120 double

rooms and 30 suites. How many rooms are there altogether?
1.4.2 Subtract One or Two Numbers

This section shows subtraction of numbers within the range of 100,000. This is
done by subtracting the smaller number from a bigger number using the following
steps:
Step 1: Arrange the numbers according to the place value, with the bigger
number on top.
Step 2: Subtract digits from the right column to the left.
Step 3: To subtract a larger digit from a smaller digit in a column, borrow 1

from the left. This means borrowing one group of 10; thus, add 10 to the
top digit in the given column, then continue subtracting.

Example 10:
Subtract 65,425 from 94,568.
Arrange the numbers in columns. Start subtracting from right to left. If the lower
number is less than the upper number, subtract as usual.
8 14
9 4 5 6 8 In the thousands, 4 is less than 5, borrow 1 from
group of 10 from 9, 9 – 1 = 8, so 10 + 4 = 14. Next
 6 5 4 2 5 14 – 5 = 9. 1 has been taken away from 9 leaving
2 9 1 4 3 8, so 8 – 6 = 2.
After completing the subtraction, it is wise to check your answer using

approximation. Checking: Round up to the nearest thousands.
9 5 0 0 0
The approximation value is 30,000 which is close
 6 5 0 0 0
to the exact value 29,143. So the exact answer is
3 0 0 0 0 reasonable.
One of the most basic examples of subtraction is to know how much is left of your
salary after you have spent half of it. You can relate the use of subtraction to real-
life situations to help your students understand the concept better.
Example 11:
There are 69,000 football match tickets to be sold. Last week, 22,358 tickets were
already sold. How many tickets are left?
8 9 9 10
6 9 0 0 0 Arrange in columns. In column ones, tens and
 2 2 3 5 8 thousands 3, 5 and 8 are greater than 0, so perform
the following steps. Borrow 1 group of 10 from 9,
4 6 6 4 2 9 – 1 = 8, add 10 + 0 = 10; borrow 1 group of 10
from this 10, hundreds column, 10 – 1 = 9, add to
tens column 10 + 0 = 10; borrow 1 group of 10
from this 10 tens column, 10 – 1 = 9, add to ones
column 10 + 0 = 10. Next 10 – 8 = 2.

Example 12:
Aminah runs a catering business. She bought plates, bowls and cups totalling
87,645 pieces. If there are 8,145 plates and 25,346 cups, how many bowls does
she have?
In this problem, you are given the total number of plates, bowls and cups. Then,
you are given also the total number of plates and cups respectively. To find the
number of bowls available, you have to subtract these numbers from the total.
So the number of bowls Aminah bought is 54,155.

Note: It is only critical that the biggest number
must be placed on top when you do the deduction
(shown in Example 12). The arrangement order of
the other two numbers which are deducted are not
of importance.
SELF-CHECK 1.2
1. Calculate 18,564 – 8,251 – 2,334 = _______________.
2. Azizah collected 2,855 seeds, Ramlah collected 2,624 seeds while

Jamnah collected 5,252 seeds. What is the difference in number of
seeds between:
(a) Azizah and Ramlah?
(b) Azizah and Jamnah?
(c) Jamnah and Ramlah?

ACTIVITY 1.4
1. Find the difference of:

(a) 23,000 – 2,924 = __________
(b) 99,089 – 26,866 = _________
(c) 70,000 – 9,318 = __________
2. Subtract:
(a) 37,156 – 6,963 = ________
(b) 31,350 – 8,905 = ________
(c) 100,000 – 65,000 – 15,000 = ________
3. Fill in the boxes with the correct numbers:
6 4 6 2 5 2 6 2
(a)  1 5 4 2 2 (b)  1 0 4 2 1
4 9 4 5 4 4 1
4. Solve the following problems:
(a) Mariam sells nasi lemak. In the first month, she obtained a
profit of RM1,520. In the second month, she made RM2,750
while in the third month she made RM152 less than in her
second month. What is the total profit she made within the
three months?
(b) Jason takes home a salary of RM5,630 a month. Each month,

he will spend RM500 on food, RM250 on petrol, RM480 on
utility bills and RM988 on miscellaneous items. How much
money has he left for his own savings?

1.5 MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISION WITHIN

THE RANGE OF 100,000
This section discusses multiplication and division involving whole numbers up to
100,000. Before you begin each part, explain in detail what multiplication and
division mean. Multiplication is the repeated addition of a unit. On the other hand,
division is how many times one number is contained in another.
Do you know that in mathematics, multiplication is a basic arithmetic operation?

If your students are good at multiplication, this will help them in their other
subjects. This topic will guide you to do multiplication by teaching you mental
multiplication, multiplication of two or more digits with one and two digit
numbers, and multiplication of numbers ending with zero(s). Next, you will be
taught how to do division of two and three digit numbers.
1.5.1 What is Multiplication?

Before you explain to students how to do multiplication, use a visual
representation to illustrate.
Let us take 4  8 as an example. So, what does 4  8 mean? It either means the
sum of eight 4s or the total of four 8s: 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 = 32 or
8 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 32.
Let us visualise 4  8.
8 is the number of marbles placed in four containers. Ask your students to count
the marbles. The total number of marbles is:
8
 4
3 2

(a) The Order Property

Let us look at the order property to do
multiplication. Can you write the multiplication for
the situation below? Visualise and use your
imagination. Teach your students how to do it too.
5+5+5
Let us say that there are three packs of biscuits. Each pack consists of five
biscuits. Count the total number of biscuits.
Answer:
There are 3  5 = 15 biscuits. In other words, five biscuits are added
repeatedly three times.
Give the students a few more situations to let them visualise and write the
multiplication. You may use items in the classroom to demonstrate this.
Do you know that multiplication has an order property? You can show this
by changing the order of multiplication as: 3  5 = 5  3 = 15
Three multiply by five means that we add three repeatedly five times.
3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 15
Or, similarly like the first answer, you can tell your students that this
addition can also be done by adding five repeatedly three times.
5 + 5 + 5 = 15
Explain to your students that multiplication is very interesting and a

powerful tool in mathematics. The students are expected to memorise basic
multiplication from one until nine. Refresh their memory if they have
forgotten as this knowledge is required for use with other computational
skills.
(b) The Order of Factors

Now, let us look at the order of factors. Do you know that when numbers are
multiplied, they are called the factors of the product? Look at the following
example:
235

What are the factors of the product? The factors are 2, 3 and 5.
Here is an important fact about the order of factors. When doing

multiplication, the order of any number of factors does not count.
For example,
235=523=532
Show to the students that you can arrange the multiplication of two or more
numbers in various ways as shown above and still get the same answer, that
is 30.
Here is a tip you can give to your students:
When doing multiplication mentally, grouping the factors will help you.
Group the factors as you please in order to come out with an easy solution.
Doing multiplication mentally will help in speeding up the process of

problem solving.
Example 13:
Multiply this: 7  2  9  5
Solution:
There are many ways of solving this, but teach your students the easiest
method. This multiplication can be done easily if you know the right way of
grouping the factors. We can arrange the numbers in the order of your
preference because the order is not important here. Take advantage of
factors that produce a multiple of 10. So, you can group 2  5 and 7  9.
7  2  9  5 = (2  5)  (7  9) You need to memorise simple 1 digit

multiplication to do this.
= 10  63 2  5 = 10 and 7  9 = 63
= 630 Multiply by 10, you just add 0 at the
right side of the number.

Here are some guidelines for you to improve the skill of multiplication
mentally with whole numbers that end in 0s. Let us try the following:
200  30
You can ignore those 0s and multiply the numbers that remain. Then, put
back all the 0s that you ignored.
Example 14:
200  30 = 6,000
How do we get the answer? Follow these steps:
(i) Ignore all the 0s and simply multiply: 2  3 = 6.
(ii) Since we ignored the three 0s, we must put back these three 0s in the
answer. Count the total number of zeros for the two numbers (in this
case 3 zeros), then put it behind 6: 200  30 = 6,000.
SELF-CHECK 1.3
Calculate 9  20.
Example 15:
Calculate 16  5 mentally.
Can we calculate this mentally? The answer is yes. The multiplication of the
numbers without any ending 0s can be done mentally. How do we show this?
First, divide 16 into two groups (any ending numbers 0s) which are 10 and 6
(16 = 10 + 6). Then, multiply each of them by 5.
Therefore 16  5 = (10  5) + (6  5)
= 50 + 30 = 80

Example 16:
What is the answer for 11  65?
Multiplication of any two numbers by 11 is particularly easy, because we can split

11 into 10 and 1. Therefore, 11  65 is equal to (10  65) + (1  65).
650 + 65 = 715
Example 17:
How much is 13  12?
Because multiplication is a repeated addition, you can do multiplication easily if

you know the trick. Consider the above example, remember that 12  12 = 144.
Separate 13 into 12 and 1: 13 = 12 + 1.
Therefore, 13  12 = (12  12) + (1  12)

= 144 + 12 = 156
SELF-CHECK 1.4
Solve the following:

(a) 26  6 (d) 15  26
(b) 11  25 (e) 11  6
(c) 23  12 (f) 24  34
1.5.2 Multiply Numbers with Two or More Digits

Your students should be able to multiply single digit numbers mentally. This will
help them and serve as a basis for them to learn multiplication of numbers with
more than two digits. Now, how do we deal with the multiplication of numbers
with two or more digits? These three steps are provided as guidelines:
Step 1: Arrange each digit of the number under the other and draw a line
beneath these numbers.
Step 2: Begin multiplying each of the digits in the number above with each of
the digit in the number below from right to left.
Step 3: The products of multiplying each number above by each number below
are arranged under the other line from left to right.
We shall apply these steps in the next few examples.
(a) Multiplying Two Digit Numbers with One Digit Numbers

Example 18:
Multiply 89  9.
Follow the steps below:
Hence, 89  9 is 801.
(b) Multiplying Two Digit Numbers with Two Digit Numbers
Example 19:
Multiply 84  98.
Use similar steps as in Example 18.
Step1: Arrange by placing number 84 above and

3
98 below. Align digit ones, tens, hundred.
3
Step2: Multiply first by 8, 84 × 8 = 672. Next
8 4
× 9 8 } multiply by 9, 84 × 90 = 7,560. Then,
arrange the partial products.
1
61 7 2
7 5 6 0 }+ Step3: Add all the partial products to get the total
8 2 3 2 8,232.
So, the answer for 84  98 is 8,232.

(c) Multiplying Numbers Ending with Zero(s)

Let us look now at multiplication of numbers ending with zero(s). This kind
of multiplication can be solved easily and more quickly than others. Explain
to the students the following steps:
Step 1: Multiply only the digits.

Step 2: Attach the total number of zeros to the product obtained from the
multiplication.
Example 20:
Multiply 3,500  80
4
3 5 0 0
Step 1: Multiply the digits, 35  8 = 280.
8 0
2 8 0 Step 2: Add three zeros to the product, 280,000.
As an educator, you have to show more examples to your students to let them
fully understand the techniques of multiplication. Guide students through the steps
so that they will be confident enough to attempt to answer questions on their own.
1.5.3 What is Division?

When do we use division? We use division when we want to separate a quantity
equally. Use some items in the classroom to show how things can be divided into
groups. Give students a rough idea about the process of division.
Let us say we have 3  3 matches. They

are equal to nine and hence, 9  3 = 3.
This means we can divide nine matches
equally into three groups. Thus, we
obtain three sticks of matches per group.
Do note that the process of dividing two to five digit numbers by two or three
digit numbers are basically the same. Remind your students of this regularly.

1.5.4 Divide by One, Two or Three Digit Numbers

(a) Dividing by a One Digit Number
Example 21:
You want to divide 20 cans of Coca-Cola into four packages. How many
cans of Coca-Cola are there in each package?
To solve this problem, first, show students that you can form the operation
using the symbol: 20  4. Second, write the division using a long-division
symbol ( ).
5 Start dividing the digits of the numbers from left to right by four.
4 20 The first digit two is less than four, so you should choose two
 20 digits (20) which is bigger than four. Next, you can ask your
0 students for a number when multiplied by four will result in an
answer less or equal to 20. The answer is 4  5 = 20. Place 5 on
top ( ) and 20 below 20. Then, subtract 20 – 20 = 0. This
means that there are no remainders and 20 can be exactly divided
by 4. Therefore, 20  4 = 5.

Example 22:
Calculate 57,000  8.
Start dividing the digits of the numbers from left to right by

eight. The first digit five is less than eight, so you should
choose two digits (57) which are bigger than eight. Next, ask
your students for a number when multiplied by eight will
result in an answer less or equal to 57, which is 8  7 = 56.
Place seven on top and 56 below 57. Then, subtract
57 – 56 = 1. The difference is less than eight. Bring down the
digit zero next to one to become 10.
Again, ask for a number when multiplied by eight will result

in an answer less or equal to 10. The answer is 8  1 = 8, so
put one on top of division and then subtract 10 – 8 = 2. The
difference is less than eight. Bring down the digit zero next to
two to get 20, for a number when multiplied by eight will
result in an answer less or equal to 20. The answer is 8  2 =
16. Put two on top of the division. Then, subtract 20 – 16 = 4.
Bring down the digit zero to make 40. Finally, find a number
when multiplied by eight will result in an answer less or
equal to 40. Therefore, 8  5 = 40. Put five on top of the
division symbol. Subtract 40 – 40 = 0. Hence, 57,000  8 =
7,125.
Example 23: Example 24:

524  6 3,568  6
87 594
6 524 6 3568
 48  30
44 56
 42  54
2 28
 24
Hence, 524  6 = 87, remainder 2.
4
Hence, 3,568  6 = 594, remainder 4.

(b) Dividing by Two or Three Digit Numbers

In this section, you will see an example of the division of numbers by two or
three digits numbers. Follow the guidelines in Example 25.
Example 25:
78  35
Start dividing the digits of the numbers from left to right by
35. The first digit seven is less than 35, so you should
choose two digits (78) which are bigger than 35. Next, ask
your students whether 35  ? is less than or equal to 78.
The answer is 35  2 = 70. Place two on top and
70 below 78. Then, subtract 78 – 70 = 8.
The next few examples will further illustrate this method.
Example 26: Example 27:

564  35 9,578  35
Hence, 9,578  35 = 273, remainder

23.

1.6 MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISION

IN EVERYDAY LIFE
Multiplication and division are used regularly in our daily life. Below are some
examples which can be used to guide students.
Example 28:
3,550 sweets are to be divided into 25 packages. How many sweets are there in
each package?
First, you have to write the division operation: 3,550  25.
Start dividing the digits of the numbers from left to right by 25.
142 The first digit three is less than 25, so you should choose two
25 3550
digit (35) which is bigger than 25. Next, ask your students
 25 whether 25  ? is less than or equal to 35. That is 1. Place one
105 on top and 25 below 35. Then subtract 35 – 25 = 10.
 100 The difference is less than 25. Bring down the digit five and
place it behind 10 to become 105.
50
 50 Again, ask your students whether 25  ? is less than or equal to
0 105. The answer is 25  4 = 100. Then, subtract 105 – 100 = 5.
The difference is less than 25. Bring down the digit zero to add
and become 50. Finally, ask them whether 25  ? is less than or
equal to 50. The answer is 25  2 = 50. Subtract 50 by 50 and
you will get 0. Hence, 3 568  25 = 142.
Example 29:
Sarimah runs a photocopying business. She earns RM12,250 per week. Her
business operates five days a week and the machine can operate for 10 hours per
day. How much does she earn per hour?
To solve this question it will be wise to do some analysis like what is shown.
Once students have understood the question properly, it will be easier for them to
solve it.

(a) What is given? Earns RM12,250 per week.

Operates five days a week. Machine can
operate for 10 hours a day.
(b) What is asked? Earning per hour.
(c) How much RM is earned? Use division.
First, divide amount earned by working hours: 12,250  5  10.
Next, simplify 5  10 = 50 and the problem becomes 12,250  50.
12 is less than 50. So choose 122. 50  2 = 100 is less than

122. Subtract 122 – 100 = 22. Bring down five and it
becomes 225. 50  4 = 200. Subtract 225 – 200 = 25. Since
25 is less than 50. Bring down zero to become 250. 50  5
= 250. Subtract 250 – 250 = 0.
SELF-CHECK 1.5
1. Salim is a hotel manager who wants to set all the tables with six
special cups each in an executive dining room. He needs 252 cups.
Calculate how many tables are there in the executive dining room.
2. Calculate the following:
(a) 5 2565 (b) 7 5279
(b) 7 6680 (d) 28 4884
3. A father of four children has 2,458 stamps. He wants to distribute

the stamps equally among his four children. How many stamps will
each child get?

ACTIVITY 1.5
1. The pupils at Sekolah Kebangsaan Abi in Perlis are having a

co-curricular activity in Danga Bay, Johor Bahru. The organiser
needs to hire enough buses to take the 253 teachers and pupils. If
each bus can acccommodate 45 people, how many buses will he
need to rent?
2. Abu buys Utusan Malaysia and The Star newspapers every day. He
needs to pay RM40 per month and RM36 per month for each
newspaper respectively. How much must he pay for both newspapers
in three months?
3. 12 watermelons weigh an average of 354g. What is the weight of
each watermelon on average?
4. 2,200 cards were put into packs of 10. How many cards are there in
each pack?
5. Half an hour = ____ minutes.
1.7 MIXED OPERATIONS WITH ADDITION

AND SUBTRACTION
How do we calculate problems with mixed operations? In mixed operations, we
start calculating from left to right. Let us look at the following examples.
Example 30:
55 + 29 – 34 =
For the above problem, add the Then, subtract 34 from the total:
two numbers first as:
8 4
5 5 3 4 
2 9 + 5 0
8 4
Hence, 55 + 29 – 34 = 50.

Example 31:
567 + 154 – 152 =
Add the two numbers first as: Then, subtract 152 from the total:
5 6 7 7 2 1
1 5 4 + 1 5 2 
7 2 1 5 6 9
So the answer for 567 + 154 –152 is 569.
You can also do the mixed operations involving addition and subtraction in
another way. Do the subtraction first, followed by the addition. But make sure that
when you give examples of this kind, the first subtraction must not be negative as
the students are not up to this level yet.
Example 32:
53 – 28 + 56 =
Subtract the two numbers first as: Add 25 with 56:

5 3 2 5
2 8  5 6 +
2 5 8 1
The final answer for 53 – 28 + 56 is 81.
Do you know that there is a checking strategy to check whether the answer to the
mixed operations involving addition and subtraction problem is correct? Here is
the strategy:
(a) Bring the negative number to the right hand side value. When you move the
number to the other side of the ‘=’ sign, the negative sign will change to
positive.
(b) Add the right hand side value.
(c) Next add the left hand side value.
(d) The right hand side value must be equal to the left hand side value.

Let us consider Example 30 to apply this strategy.
55 + 29 – 34 = 50
55 + 29 = 50 + 34
Add the right hand side value: Add left hand side value:
5 5 5 0
2 9 + 3 4 +
8 4 8 4
Hence, 55 + 29 – 34 = 50 is correct.
Let us look at how to solve some problems involving addition and subtraction.
First, you should understand the problem thoroughly so that you can arrange the
strategy to solve the problem.
Example 33:
Aminah has RM50 and her mother gives her RM20. She buys a book at a cost of
RM55. What is the amount of money left?
From the problem stated, you can do the following:
You have to understand the question thoroughly. Use the questions in the left column
as a guideline. Ask the same questions to the students.
What information is given? Group the information into two
Amount she has Amount she pays
RM55 and RM20 RM55
What is asked? Amount of money she has
left.
What operations are needed? Addition Subtraction
Solve: 5 0 7 0
2 0 + 5 5 
7 0 1 5
Hence, the solution RM50 + RM20 – RM55 = RM15.

Now, to check that the answer is correct, you should do the opposite. Move the
negative sign to the right hand side. Then it becomes:
RM50 + RM20 = RM55 + RM15
The left hand side and the right hand side have the same value, which is RM70.
ACTIVITY 1.6
Give these pictures to your students to have a look at them. Then, ask the
students to write THREE problems involving addition and subtraction for
any pictures that they like. Collect all the problems and solve them together.
ACTIVITY 1.7
1. Mega Hotel has 82 single rooms, some double rooms and 35 suites.
There are 250 rooms in total. How many double rooms are there in
the hotel?
2. There are 15 boys and 18 girls in a class. The following day, three
boys and two girls were transferred to another school. How many
children are left in the school?
3. Amran has 35 stamps. His dad gives him another 10 stamps but then
he misplaces 13 of the stamps. Find the number of stamps left.
4. Ah Chong bought three books at a price of RM35 each. The price of
each book was reduced to RM25. How much money does he save?

In this topic, we have learned about:

 Recognising whole numbers;
 Identifying place value of numbers;
 Comparing and arranging two or more numbers;
 Rounding off whole numbers;
 Addition and subtraction within the range of 100,000;
 Multiplication and division within the range of 100,000;
 Multiplication and division to solve problems in daily life; and
 Mixed operations involving addition and subtraction.
Addition Ones
Approximation Order property
Arrange Place value
Ascending Repeated addition
Borrowed Right hand side
Count back Round off
Count on Subtraction
Descending Symbol of division,  or long-division
Division symbol
Estimation Symbol of multiplication, 
Left hand side Tens
Mixed operation Thousands
Multiplication

Cardanha, J. M. (1993). Career math skills. Columbus, Ohio: McGraw-Hill

School Education Group.
edHelper.com. (n.d.). Grade four math worksheets. Retrieved from http://www.

edhelper.com/math_ grade4.htm
Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2009). Integrated curriculum for primary schools

mathematics Year 4. Kuala Lumpur: Curriculum Development Centre.
Shum, K. W., & Chan, S.H. (2004). Reference text series KBSR Year 4. Kuala
Lumpur: Pearson.

Topic  Fractions
2
LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Identify proper and improper fractions;
2. Compare and arrange fractions;
3. Write equivalent fractions;
4. Perform addition and subtraction of fractions; and
5. Solve problems involving addition and subtraction of proper fractions.
 INTRODUCTION
Fractions are used in almost every type of measurement such as time, weight,
length and distance. For example, things that we buy and share with others are
measured in fractions. You will learn about proper and improper fractions, the
operations of fractions, and addition and subtraction involving fractions. These
operations involve proper fractions with denominators of up to 10.

38  TOPIC 2 FRACTIONS
2.1 IDEA OF FRACTION

Let us compare and arrange proper fractions and improper fractions.
2.1.1 Proper Fractions

First of all, let us look at the meaning of fraction. If a whole quantity or object is
divided into several equal parts, one or more of these parts from the whole object
is called a fraction.
2
In any fraction, for example, , the number 2 at the top is denoted as the
3
Numerator and the bottom number, 3, is the Denominator. The fraction can also
be written as:
Numerator
Fraction =
Denominator
Example 1:
Let us say that you are given a cake. You want to share it equally among six
people. How do you do that?
Solution:
Explain to students that we can divide the cake into six parts. Each part of the
1 1
cake is . Each person can have of the cake. Illustrate this on the board,
6 6
showing the division of the cake.

TOPIC 2 FRACTIONS  39
ACTIVITY 2.1
Write down the fractions for the shaded parts:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

2.1.2 Improper Fractions

A fraction in which the numerator is greater than the denominator is called an
improper fraction.
7
An example of an improper fraction is .
2
Example 2:
8
Each circle is divided into three equal parts in Figure 2.1. The shaded areas are .
3
Figure 2.1: Example of improper fraction
8
Thus, the numerator is greater than the denominator. Hence, is an improper
3
fraction.
2.1.3 Comparing and Arranging Fractions

A cake is to be shared among eight pupils. What fraction of the cake will each
pupil get?
1
Each pupil  of the cake.
8
Say that the cake can be divided into eight equal parts. When half of the cake has
been eaten, there are still four pieces left.

4 1
So,  . This means that although four pieces of cake have been eaten, we can
8 2
say that half of the cake is still available. Show the students in pictorial form, so
that they can understand easily. You can also prepare a circular cutout in eight
equal parts to represent the cake slices. Teach them the fractions involved by
asking them to colour the parts accordingly. This is a good way to visualise
fractions as well as to stimulate an enjoyable learning experience.
Now, let us compare which fraction is bigger or smaller by looking at these two
rulers in Figure 2.2.
Figure 2.2: Comparing fractions using rulers
Ask your students which ruler has a longer shaded region.
When the denominators are equal, you can decide which fraction is bigger by
comparing the numerator value. You can explain this by using fractions.
6
The fraction of the first ruler:
10
8
The fraction of the second ruler:
10
8 6
Therefore, is bigger than because 8 is bigger than 6.
10 10

When the denominators are not equal, then you can compare certain fractions by
looking at a simple chart as shown below (Figure 2.3). This is not the best way as
a better way would be using equivalent fractions to compare.
Figure 2.3: Fraction wall
1 1 1 1 1
So, 1 is bigger than ; is bigger than ; is bigger than .
2 2 5 5 10
2.1.4 Equivalent Fractions

If the denominators are not equal, it will be hard for students to compare fractions.
Teach them how to express and write equivalent fractions. Equivalent fractions
are not only useful in comparing the size of fractions but they are also needed
when we use operations such as addition and subtraction to solve questions.
So what does an equivalent fraction mean? An equivalent fraction is defined as a

fraction that has the same value.
Let us look at the following examples in Figure 2.4. You can use these examples
to explain the concept of fractions to your students.

Figure 2.4: Equivalent fractions
Equivalent fractions have the same value. To obtain the equivalent fraction, you
have to multiply or divide both the numerator and denominator by the same
number.
2 2 2 4
 
4 4 2 8
Now, let us try some examples. Fill in the blank spaces in the fractions below.
3 3 ? 6 2 2? 4
(i)   (ii)  
4 4? 8 5 5  ? 10
Students should now be able to make comparisons among fractions. These

comparisons can be done by following the steps below:
Steps to compare fractions:

(a) Find the least common denominator.
(b) Change each fraction to an equivalent fraction with the least common
denominator as its denominator.
(c) Compare the numerator.

Let us apply these steps for the following examples.
Example 3:
1 3
Compare and .
5 5
Look at the denominator – are they equal? Yes
1 3
If equal, then compare the numerator: and .
5 5
3 1
3 is greater than 1: So, is greater than .
5 5
Example 4:
3 7
Compare and .
4 8
Look at the denominator – are they equal? No
If not equal, find the least common denominator 4: 4, 8, 12, 16,..

8: 8, 16, ...
Change each fraction to an equivalent fraction with the least common

3 32 6
denominator as its denominator:  
4 42 8
6 7
Compare the numerators: and
8 8
7 6
7 is greater than 6: So, is greater than .
8 8

2.2 ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION OF

FRACTIONS
Keep in mind that adding fractions is not the same as adding whole numbers. To
add fractions, the fractions must look alike.
2.2.1 Adding and Subtracting Fractions with the

Same and Different Denominators
To add fractions, the fractions must look alike. This means that they must have the
same denominators. When adding fractions, you have to follow this general rule.
General rule:
a b ab
 
c c c
Example 5:
5 1 5 1 6
  
8 8 8 8
Then, if possible you should reduce the fraction to its simplest form. To express
fractions in the simplest form, divide the numerator and denominator of the
fractions by the same number. Show some examples to your students.
Example 6:
6 62 3 6 3
Simplify:   Thus, is equivalent to .
8 82 4 8 4
Example 7:
Find the sum of
2
Change to an equivalent fraction with a
3 2 3 2 2 4
   common denominator.
8 4 8 42
3 4 7 2 4
  is equivalent to .
8 8 8 4 8

Figure 2.5: Example of sum of fractions
Example 8:
Find the sum of
3 2 3× 2 2 3 6
+ = + Find the equivalent fraction for . The answer is .
5 10 5× 2 10 5 10
6 2 8
+ =
10 10 10
Note that after the fractions are added, if possible, you should make the final
result in a smaller or reduced fraction form. You have seen this in Example 6
where we divide both the numerator and denominator by the same number. Some
guidelines below serve as an alternative method which may help you explain the
steps to the students on simplifying fractions.
Steps to reduce a fraction to its simplest form:

(a) Factorise the numerator.
(b) Factorise the denominator.
(c) Find the fraction mix that equals 1.
Example 9:
8
Reduce the fraction .
10
First and second steps: Factorise the numerator and denominator.

4× 2
5× 2
Note that all factors in the numerator and denominator are separated by
multiplication signs.
4× 2 4 2
Third step: Find the fraction that equals 1. can be written as  which
5× 2 5 2
4 4
in turn can be written as  1 or similarly .
5 5
8 4
= (This is the simplest form)
10 5
Example 10:
15
Reduce the fraction .
6
First and second steps: Rewrite the fraction with both the numerator and the
denominator factorised.
5 3
23
5 3 5 3
Third step: Find the fraction that equals 1. can be written as  which in
23 2 3
5 5
turn can be written as  1 or similarly .
2 2
15 5
= (This is the simplest form)
6 2
ACTIVITY 2.2
1 1 1 2 3 1
1. + 2. + 3. +
5 5 5 5 5 5
3 2 3 2 2 3
4. + 5. + 6. +
10 10 8 8 7 7
2 1 1 5 3 1
7. + 8. + 9. +
9 9 8 8 10 5
2 5 3 2 3 6
10. + 11. + 12. +
3 6 6 6 4 8

Keep in mind that subtracting fractions is done the same way as adding fractions.
To subtract fractions, they must look alike.
The general rule for subtraction of fractions is:
a b a b
 =
c c c
Let us try this:
(i) 5 2 52 3
 = =
8 8 8 8
(ii) 1 1
 =
4 8 1
Change to its equivalent fraction
4
1 1 2 1
 =  1× 2 2
4 8 8 8 =
4× 2 8
2 1 1
= =
8 8
(iii) 2 2

3 6 2
Change to its equivalent
3
2 2 4 2 fraction
 = 
3 6 6 6
42 2 2× 2 4
= = =
6 6 3× 2 6
2÷2
= (Reduce to)
6÷2
1
=
3

In summary, adding and subtracting like fractions can be done in the following
way:
(a) Add or subtract the numerators;

(b) Keep the like denominators; and
(c) Reduce to the simplest fraction.
2.2.2 Solving Problems Involving Fractions

We often encounter problems involving fractions in our daily life. How do we
solve these problems? Tell your students to do the following in order to help solve
these problems:
(a) Understand the problem thoroughly;

(b) Identify what information has been given;
(c) Identify what the question asks for;
(d) Identify what operations are needed; and
(e) Work out the solution.
Let us see some examples that demonstrate problem solving involving fractions.

Example 11:
You have to understand the question thoroughly
What information is given? Water melon is cut into 8 slices
eight slices.
Aminah ate three slices. 3 slices eaten
Halim ate two slices. 2 slices eaten
What does the question ask? How many slices of
watermelon are left?
What fractions are involved? 3 2
and
8 8
What operations are needed? Subtraction
Solve: 3 2 Change one into a
1  fraction with the same
8 8
8
8 3 2 3 denominator: 1 = .
  = 8
8 8 8 8
8 3 2 3
Hence the solution   =
8 8 8 8
Example 12:
A primary school has a building which is two storeys high. Each floor has five
classes. Year 1 pupils occupy three classes on the ground level and Year 2 pupils
occupy two classes on the first floor. How many classes are occupied by Year 1
and Year 2 pupils?

You have to understand the question thoroughly

What information is given? Two-storeys-high building.
Each floor has five classes.
Year 1 pupils occupy three
classes at ground level.
Year 2 pupils occupy two
classes at the first floor.
What does the question ask? How many classes are
occupied?
What fractions are involved? 3 Total classes =
Year 1 pupils: 2  5 = 10
10
2
Year 2 pupils:
10
What operations are needed? Addition
Solve: 3 2 5
+ =
10 10 10
5 5÷5 1 Reduce the
= = fraction
10 10 ÷ 5 2
ACTIVITY 2.3
3 1 3 1 8 2
1.  2.  3. 
5 5 4 4 9 3
2 2 7 2 3 2
4.  5.  6. 
5 10 8 4 7 7
2 1 5 2 3 5
7.  8.  9. 
9 9 8 4 4 8
5 4 5 3 9 3
10.  11.  12. 
10 10 6 8 10 4

ACTIVITY 2.4
Problem 1:
Simplify the following fractions.
18 6 9
1. 2. 3.
24 8 15
18 6 18
4. 5. 6.
32 4 9
4 10 4
7. 8. 9. 2
10 12 6
Problem 2:
1 1
Jackson read of a novel on Sunday. He continued to read another of
4 4
the novel the next day. What fraction of the book has he read?
Problem 3:
Sue and some friends helped to paint a wall. They painted one third of the
wall pink. What fraction of the wall is not painted?
ACTIVITY 2.5
You are given some strings, paper, scissors and a pen. Discuss how you
5 2
can demonstrate and explain to your students the fractions , and the
8 5
1 1
operation  .
3 6

 The idea of fraction – proper fractions, improper fractions, comparing and

arranging fractions and expressing equivalent fractions.
 Addition and subtraction of fractions.
Addition Least common denominator

Common multiple Numerator
Denominator Proper fraction
Equivalent Simplest fraction
Improper fraction Subtraction
Cleaves, C., & Hobbs, M. (2003). Reference to mathematics: A guide for every
math. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Ministry of Education Malaysia (2004). Integrated curriculum for primary schools

Shum, K. W., & Chan, S. H. (2004). Reference text series KBSR Year 3. Kuala
Lumpur: Pearson.

Topic  Decimals
3
LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Write decimal numbers in words;
2. Convert fractions to decimals and vice versa;
3. Perform addition and subtraction of decimals up to two decimal
places;
4. Perform multiplication and division of decimals up to two decimal
places by a whole number;
5. Show multiplication and division of decimals in standard written
method; and
6. Solve problems related to multiplication and division of decimals.
 INTRODUCTION
It is common to see numbers that have decimals in them. Decimals are points
which are located in between the digits in the numbers. A decimal point in a
number shows the accuracy of the number value. The location of the decimal
point (in between digits) indicates the size of the number.
We will learn how to write decimal numbers in words. Later, we will also learn
how to convert fractions to decimals and vice versa followed by how to convert
mixed numbers to fractions and vice versa. Then, we will arrange decimal
numbers. After that, we will do some calculations as we learn how to do addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division involving decimal numbers. Lastly, we
will multiply and divide decimals in the standard written method.

TOPIC 3 DECIMALS  55
Figure 3.1: Decimals

Source: www.CartoonStock.com
3.1 DECIMAL NUMBERS

Let us recall the first topic of this module. In Topic 1, you have learnt about place
value. You can refresh your students’ memories about place value by presenting
the place value chart as shown in Table 3.1.
Table 3.1: Place Value Chart
Hundred Ten
Thousands Hundreds Tens Ones
Thousands Thousands
Based on the chart, your students can see that the place value starts with ones at
the right followed by tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands and hundred
thousands. Ones is the basic unit and the next place value is multiplied by 10.

56  TOPIC 3 DECIMALS
Tens: 10  1 = 10
Hundreds: 10  10 = 100
Thousands: 10  100 = 1,000
And so on.
Now, you can tell your students about decimals. Tell them that decimal is the
moving to the right after the ones. Start with 1,000 and move to the place value to
the right.
1,000  10 = 100
100  10 = 10
10  10 = 1
You can get the value to the right of each place value by dividing by 10. Suppose
you divide 1 by 10:
1
1÷10 = , this is a fraction and you read it as “one tenth”.
10
The value to the right of ones is called decimal point. The decimal (base ten)
shows where the whole number ends and the fraction begins. The decimal place
value chart is just the opposite of the place value chart. The decimal place value
chart is shown below in Table 3.2. The shaded grey area is not needed for your
students at this level of study.
Table 3.2: Decimal Place Value Chart
Ten
Ones Tenths Hundredths Thousandths
Thousandths
1 1/ 10 1/100 1/1,000 1/ 10,000
Now, how do we read and write a decimal number in words? Let us follow the
following four guidelines in order to teach your students how to read and write
decimal numbers.

Four Guidelines to Read and Write a Decimal Number:

(a) Mentally align the whole numbers in the place value chart and the
decimal numbers in the decimal place chart.
(b) Read the whole number.
(c) Use decimal point and read the decimal place value as you read the
whole number.
(d) End by reading the last decimal place value where the numbers end.
Let us go through the following examples.
Example 1:
Read 35.63.
Solution:
(a) Mentally align the numbers.
Hundred Ten
Thousands Hundreds Tens Ones
Thousands Thousands
3 5
and
Tenths Hundredths
1/ 10 1/100
6 3
(b) You read it as thirty five and sixty three hundredths.

Example 2:
18
Write as a decimal.
100
Solution:
If any whole number is divided by a denominator with the power of ten, you can
do it quickly as shown below:
(a) Write the numerator. 18

(b) Count how many zeros there are at the denominator. 2
(c) Move the decimal point two places from right to left.
Attach zeros on the left end of decimal point. 0.18
18
Hence = 0.18.
100
Note:
Zeros attached to the end of a decimal number do not change the value of the
numbers. Look at the example below. The zero(s) attached to the end of a decimal
number does not affect its value.
3 30
0.3 = 0.30 =
10 100
In the next two subtopics, you will learn about converting fractions and mixed
numbers to decimals and vice versa. This skill is important in mathematics as we
need it to help us solve problems involving decimals. Therefore, you need to have
a good grasp of decimal conversion.
3.1.1 Converting Fractions to Decimals and Vice Versa

This section explains how you can convert fractions to decimals and decimals to
fractions.
When converting fractions to decimals, you can tell your students to follow these
three steps:
(a) Place the decimal point after the number of the numerator.
(b) Attach the zeros as needed after the decimal point.
(c) Divide the numerator by the denominator using long division.
Example 3:
6
Convert to decimal number.
8
Solution:
Place a decimal after six. Attach zeros as needed. Divide as usual.
How about converting decimals to fractions? To convert decimals to fractions,

follow the three steps below:
(a) Write the numerator as a whole number.

(b) Write the denominator as power of tens with the number of zeros depending
on how many places there are after the decimal point.
(c) Reduce the fraction to its simplest form.
Let us demonstrate these steps in Example 4.
Example 4:
Convert 0.5 and 0.85 to fractions.
Solution:
Move one decimal place to the right The denominator is 10 (one zero)
5 Write in fraction, the numerator should
0.5 = be in whole number
10
1 Reduce the fraction
=
2
Move two decimal places to the right The denominator is 100 (two zeros)
85 Write in fraction form, the denominator
0.85 = should be in whole numbers.
100
17 Reduce the fraction by dividing both
=
20 numerator and denominator by 5.

3.1.2 Converting Mixed Numbers to Fractions and

Vice Versa
In this section, whole numbers are seen to be combined with fractions. These are
called mixed numbers. You will learn how to convert them to fractions and vice
versa.
Introduce the steps below to convert mixed numbers to fractions.
(a) Write the mixed number as a whole number and decimal number.
(b) Convert decimal number to fraction.
(c) Convert fraction to mixed number fraction.
Example 5:
Convert 17.3 to mixed number fractions.
Solution:
17.3 = 17 and 0.3 Write as whole numbers and decimal numbers.
3 Convert decimal numbers to fraction and

0.3 = reduce the fraction whenever possible.
10
3 Write the mixed fractions.

17
10
Conversely, the steps below show the conversion of mixed number fractions to
decimals.
(a) Write the mixed number fractions as whole numbers and fractions.
(b) Use long division to convert the fraction to decimal number.
(c) Write the mixed number fraction.

Example 6:
3
Convert 13 to decimal number.
4
Solution:
3 3 Write as whole numbers and fractions.
13 = 13 and
4 4
Use long division to convert the fraction to decimal

numbers.
3 Write the decimal numbers.

13 = 13.75
4
SELF-CHECK 3.1
Solve the following problems:
1. Read 53.86.
81
2. Write as a decimal.
100
3
3. Convert to decimal number.
5
4. Convert 0.6 and 0.05 to fractions.
5. Convert 12.5 to mixed number fraction.
1
6. Convert 11 to decimal number.
4

3.2 ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION OF

DECIMALS
Now, we will learn how to do addition and subtraction of simple decimals. You
will learn how to teach addition and subtraction of one and two decimal place
numbers.
3.2.1 Addition of Decimal Numbers

Adding decimal numbers is just like adding whole numbers. However, in adding
the decimal numbers, you have to line up the decimal points and add the numbers
accordingly. Follow the three steps below in order to add decimal numbers:
(a) Arrange the decimal numbers so that the decimal points are in a vertical line.
(b) Add the numbers of the same digit place from right to left.
(c) Place the answers in the same place.
Let us go through the following examples in class. Example 7 shows addition of

one decimal place numbers and Example 8 shows addition of two decimal place
numbers.
Example 7:
Add 13.4 + 45.1
Solution:
1 3 . 4
4 5 . 1 +
5 8 . 5

Example 8:
Add 2.61 + 56.79
Solution:
(a) Arrange the decimal numbers so that the 5 6 . 7 9
decimal points are in a vertical line. 2 . 6 1 +
(b) Add the numbers in the same column. 1 1

5 6 . 7 9
2 . 6 1 +
5 9 . 4 0
2.61 + 56.79 = 59.40
3.2.2 Subtraction of Decimal Numbers

How about the subtraction of decimal numbers? The steps are quite similar to
addition. You can explain the three steps below to your students to show them
how to subtract decimal numbers:
(b) Subtract each number from right to left.
(c) Place the answer in the same place.
Let us go through the following examples.
Example 9:
Subtract 7.9 from 12.7
11 1
1 2 . 7
7 . 9 –
4 . 8
Hence, 12.7 – 7.9 = 4.8.

Example 10:
Subtract 9.28 from 16
Solution:
(a) Arrange the decimal numbers so that the decimal 1 6 . 0 0
points are in a vertical line. 9 . 2 8 –
(b) Subtract the numbers in the same column. 15 9 1

1 6 . 0 0
9 . 2 8 –
6 . 7 2
16 – 9.28 = 6.72.
3.2.3 Addition and Subtraction of Three Decimal

Numbers
Now, we will learn about the addition and subtraction of three decimal numbers.
For your information, adding and subtracting three decimal numbers is just like
adding and subtracting two decimal numbers. Again, you have to guide your
students in performing these operations. Let us follow the steps below:
(b) Add the numbers in the same digit – placed from right to left.
(c) Place the answers in the same places.
You can demonstrate these steps by using the following example in class.

Example 11:
Add 65.00 + 42.56 + 55.12
Solution:
1
6 5 . 0 0
4 2 . 5 6
5 5 . 1 2 +
1 6 2 . 6 8
65.00 + 42.56 + 55.12 = 162.68.
Next is the subtraction of three decimal numbers. There are four steps involved in
the subtraction of three decimal numbers:
(b) Subtract the first two decimal numbers starting from right to left.
(c) Subtract the remaining decimal number from the result in Step 2.
(d) Place the decimal in the same place.
Let us do the following examples to show how to apply these steps.
Example 12:
Subtract 52.97 – 17.33 – 10.58
Solution:
4 1
5 2 . 9 7
1 7 . 3 3 –
5 1
3 5 . 6 4
1 0 . 5 8 –
2 5 . 0 6
Hence, 52.97 – 17.33 – 10.58 = 25.06

SELF-CHECK 3.2
Solve the following problems and show how you can explain the steps to
your students:
1. 23.45 + 5.23
2. 12.32 – 9.43 – 1.20
3. 10 – 1.6
3.3 MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISION OF

DECIMALS
Previously, you have learned multiplication involving whole numbers. Now, you
will learn multiplication and division of decimals. This section begins by
describing the multiplication of decimals, followed by division of decimals with
whole numbers.
3.3.1 Multiplication of Decimals

The multiplication of decimals is the same as the multiplication of the whole
numbers, except at the end of the operations you need to take into consideration
the decimal places. Now, let us look at the steps to teach students how to multiply
decimals. There are four steps to do multiplication of decimals:
(a) Place the decimal number above the other number (whole number) so that
they are lined up vertically.
(b) Disregard the decimal points and multiply the numbers.
(c) Count the total number of digits to the right of the decimal point to
determine the decimal number.
(d) Place the decimal point in the product by moving the decimal point from
right to left of the digits according to number of digits counted in Step (c).
Now, let us demonstrate how to use these steps by showing the following
examples in class.

Example 13:
Multiply 1.63  5
Solution:
(a) Place the Decimal Above the Other Number 1 . 6 3
5 
(b) Multiply the Numbers 3 1

Multiply the two numbers on the right side 1 . 6 3
(5  3 = 15). This number is larger than nine, so 5 
place one above the number six and place five 8 1 5
below the line in the right column.
Multiply the digits (5  6 = 30) and add the total

to one above the column to produce 31. The
number one from the total of 31 is placed below
the line and the three of the 31 is placed above
the digit one.
The one of the top number is multiplied by five

of the lower multiplier (5  1= 5) and added to
the number three that was previously carried,
5 + 3 = 8 and the total eight is placed below the
line.
In the beginning, you disregarded the decimal

point. Now, you must consider the decimal 1.63  5 = 8.15
point. Count the decimal places and move the
decimal point to its proper location. There are
two decimal places in the decimal number 1.63.
So we move the decimal point two places to the
left of 815 to get the answer 8.15.

Example 14:
Multiply 1.39  57
Solution:
(a) Place One Decimal Above the Other 1 . 3 9
5 7 
(b) Multiply the Numbers 1 4

Multiply the 1.39 by seven and then by five and 2 6
place the products of the first above the other. 1 . 3 9
5 7 
Add the products from right to left. 9 7 3
Placing the decimal point: The decimal number 6 9 5 +
1.39 has two decimal places, so we move the 7 9 2 3
decimal two places to the left of 7923 to produce
the answer 79.23.
1.639  57 = 79.23
3.3.2 Division of Decimals

Now, let us learn how to divide decimals. Division involving decimals is done
using the steps below:
(a) Write the division using a long-division symbol ( ).

(b) Insert the decimal point above the decimal in the dividend.
(c) Proceed with division of the whole number.

Example 15:
Divide 8.4  6
Solution:
(a) Insert the decimal point above the decimal in the dividend.
(b) Proceed with the division.
Example 16:
Divide 16.08  24
Solution:
(a) Insert the decimal point above the decimal in the
dividend.
(b) Proceed with the division as before.
3.3.3 Multiplication and Division of Decimals in

Standard Written Method
Last but not least, let us look at multiplication and division of decimals in
standard written method. What is the standard written method in multiplying and
dividing of decimals? The standard written method is a way of locating correctly
the decimal points of 10, 100 and 1,000 or the quotient.

First, let us look at multiplication. To multiply the decimal by a factor 10, 100 or
1,000, just move the decimal point to the right of the decimal numbers as many
times as the number of 0s (see Example 17 and Example 18).
Example 17:
Multiply 19.15  100
Solution:
Move the decimal point to two places to the right 19.15  100 = 1,915
Example 18:
Multiply 9.18  1,000
Solution:
Move the decimal point three places to the right. Attach a zero to the end of the
numbers. 9.18  1,000 = 9,180
How about division? To divide the decimal by a factor 10, 100 or 1,000, move the
decimal point to the left of the decimal numbers as many times as the number of
0s.
Let us look at Example 19 and Example 20 for further clarification.
Example 19:
Divide 89  100
Solution:
Move the decimal point two places to the left. 89  100 = 0.89
Example 20:
Divide 271.2  1,000
Solution:
Move the decimal point three places to the left. Attach a zero in front of the
numbers. 271.2  1,000 = 0.2712

SELF-CHECK 3.3
Solve the following problems and write down how you can explain your
working to your students:
1. 50.45  52
2. 112.5  9
ACTIVITY 3.1
1. Discuss how to compare the decimal numbers 22.36 and 22.31.
2. To convert decimal to fraction, write the numerator as ______

number and denominator as _______. Then ________the fraction.
3. When converting mixed number to fractions, separate the number

into _________and __________.
4. Adding decimal numbers is just like adding whole numbers.

True or False?
5. The standard written method in multiplying the decimal by a factor

10, 100, or 1,000 is by moving the decimal point to the right of the
decimal number as the number of 0s. True or False?
6. Discuss how to multiply 2.93  15.
7. Solve the following:

(a) 43.43 + 54.11
(b) 45.54 – 13.58
(c) 63.79 – 18.33 – 9.89
(d) 89.32 – 31.08 – 38.21

8. Multiply the following:

(a) 8 . 1 (b) 4 . 6
5  3 
_______ _______
(c) 0 . 8 6 (d) 3 . 0 6
8  4 
__________ __________
(e) 5 . 8 1 (f) 2 . 0 6
9  8 
__________ __________
(g) 6 . 2 6 (h) 5 . 9 3
2 2  9 
__________ __________
(i) 2 . 7 0 (j) 2 5 . 6
5 4  3 6 
__________ __________
(k) 0 . 5 6 (l) 0 . 6 3
1 4  4 2 
__________ __________
9. Divide the following:

(a) 172.5  100
(b) 305.35  10
(c) 76  100
(d) 12. 1,000
(e) 2.94 10
(f) 777.7  10
(g) 31.9  100
(h) 0.8  10
(i) 64.31  100

In this topic, we have learned how to:

 Write decimal numbers in words;
 Convert fractions to decimal and vice versa;
 Convert mixed numbers to fractions and vice versa;
 Perform addition and subtraction on two and three decimal numbers;
 Solve multiplication and division on two and three decimal numbers; and
 Perform multiplication and division of decimals in standard written method.
Addition Multiplication
Basic unit Numerator
Decimal point Place value
Denominator Standard written method
Descending Subtraction
Division Vertical line
Long-division symbol Whole numbers
Banfill, J. (2006). Comparing decimals. Retrieved on from http://www.aaaknow.

com/dec52_x2.htm

Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (2007). Primary mathematics/decimals. Retrieved

from http://en.wikibooks.org

Topic  Money
4
LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Read the value of money up to RM10,000;
2. Perform addition and subtraction involving money;
3. Perform multiplication and division involving money;
4. Perform mixed operations involving money;
5. Round off money to the nearest ringgit; and
6. Solve problems involving money.
 INTRODUCTION
Can you imagine living without money? I am sure this can be very difficult to
imagine as money is very important in our everyday life. We use money to buy
things – clothes, groceries, fuel, houses and so on. Money is also used to pay for
the services given to us, for example, to pay for transport services – bus, taxi, train
and so on. Therefore, it is important for you to understand the mathematical
calculation involving money and how to apply it in your daily life. As for your
students, they are at a stage where they need to use money to buy lunch or
stationery. This topic will be able to help them.
The topic begins with how to read and write the value of money. Then, you will
learn to perform addition and subtraction involving money. After that, you will
learn how to perform multiplication and division involving money. Rounding off
money is also very useful to learn because sometimes we need to estimate the
total amount we have. Lastly, you will learn how to perform mixed operations

TOPIC 4 MONEY  75
involving money so that you can do calculations to solve problems in everyday

life.
ACTIVITY 4.1
Ask your students to count how many coins they have.
4.1 READING AND WRITING THE VALUE OF

MONEY
Being able to read and write the value of money will help your students in
everyday life. This knowledge is very useful when you go shopping, save or
withdraw money or do other transactions. The section below will discuss how to
teach reading and writing the value of money up to RM10,000.
Activity 1: Reading and Writing the Value of Money

Objective:
By the end of this activity, your students will be able to read and write the value
of money.
Material:
Savings account book.
Example 1:
(a) The teacher begins this activity by showing the account as shown in the
picture (Figure 4.1).

76  TOPIC 4 MONEY
Figure 4.1: Read the value of money in a savings account book
(b) Ask them, how many transactions have been made in the account during the
latest month: (i) How much are the deposits? and (ii) How much are the
withdrawals?
(c) Now, look at the arrangement of money given, then read and write the
amount of money. See Figure 4.2.
Figure 4.2: Money

Source: http://www.bnm.gov.my

ACTIVITY 4.2
1. Read the following amounts:

(a) RM3,126.20 (b) RM5,215.10
2. Write the amount in numbers: Seven thousand eight hundred and

fifty two ringgit.
ACTIVITY 4.3
1. How much are these amounts?
2. Read and write the following amounts in words:

(a) RM48.50 (b) RM895.30
(c) RM995.35 (d) RM5,323.00
(e) RM8,546.15 (f) RM9,876. 86

4.2 ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION

INVOLVING MONEY
We use money to pay bills and buy things such as food and tickets. Also, we save
our money in the bank, exchange money and so on. These activities require
knowledge – a very basic knowledge which is addition and subtraction of money.
Let us look at Activity 2 to learn how to add and subtract money.
Activity 2: Addition and Subtraction Involving Money
Objectives:
By the end of this activity, your students will be able to:
(a) Add money; and

(b) Subtract money.
Example 2:
(a) Teacher says, “If you go to the electrical shop, you will see some of these
items”. See Figure 4.3.
Figure 4.3: Items and prices in an electrical shop
(b) Ask students to add all the prices of the items above.
(c) Then, tell them that the addition can also be written as:
RM5, 995.50 + RM3,677.99 + RM299.99 =

(d) Next, you align the numbers to be added from the right and add the column
of the digits.
1 2 2 2 1
RM 5 9 9 5 . 5 0
RM 3 6 7 7 . 9 9
+ RM 2 9 9 . 9 9
RM 9 9 7 3 . 4 8
Example 3:
Compare the prices of cameras in Figure 4.4:
Figure 4.4: Cameras

Source: http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/ &
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/camera.htm
(a) Tell your students to compare the different prices. Next, tell them to use
subtraction. Subtract the smaller money value from the larger money value.
(b) Then, you write the subtraction in equation form as follows:
RM3,500.90 – RM2,355.89 =

(c) Show them the subtraction
RM 3 5 0 0 . 9 0
– RM 2 3 5 5 . 8 9
RM 1 1 4 5 . 0 1
Hence, RM3,500.90 – RM2,355.89 = RM1,145.01.
ACTIVITY 4.4
1. What is the total amount of money in ringgit and sen?

(a) RM995.50 + RM3,677.99 + RM2,899.99 =
(b) 515 sen + 6485 sen + 2058 sen =
2. Subtract the amount of money:

(a) RM8,858.20 – RM5,635.25 =
(b) RM3,113.30 – RM110.25 =

INVOLVING MONEY
This section demonstrates to you the multiplication and division of money by a
single digit number. Let us start the lesson!
4.3.1 Multiplication Involving Money

The multiplication of money involves multiplying a decimal number by a single
digit number. The following steps will guide you to do multiplication involving
money:
In your answer, place the decimal point according to the money being multiplied.
Since you are multiplying money, remember to add the RM sign to your answer.

Activity 3: Multiplication of Money
Objective:
By the end of this activity, your students will be able to multiply money.
Example 4:
Multiply the following: RM0.58  4 =
Solution:
(a) Ask your students to multiply the numbers only.
(b) RM0.58  The number being multiplied has two decimal places.
 4
RM232  The answer must also have two decimal places.
(c) Now, ask them where the decimal point for the number 232 should be
placed.
(d) After you get the answer, explain to them that to place the decimal number
they just count the decimal places for the number being multiplied. Since,
the number being multiplied has two decimal places, place two decimal
places counting from right, RM2.32.
Hence, RM0.58 4 = RM2.32.
In Example 5, ask all your students to do the multiplication of RM570.35  8 and

guide them using the multiplication steps above. The answer for the multiplication
is as follows.
Example 5:
RM570.35  The number being multiplied has two decimal places.
 8
RM4,562.80  The answer must also have two decimal places.
This technique can also be called short multiplication. What does it mean?

You can use the short multiplication technique with a series of simple
multiplication problems. How do you do that? You can do it by multiplying from
right to left and carrying any product of 10 or more to the next column.
4.3.2 Division Involving Money

Division involving money requires the division of a decimal number by a single
digit number. The following steps will guide you in teaching this subject:
(a) Use long division ( ) and start dividing the digits from left to right.
(b) Place the decimal point according to the money being divided.
Again, since you are dividing money, remember to add the RM sign to your
answer.
Activity 4: Division of Money
Objective:
By the end of this activity, your students will be able to divide money.
Let us look at Example 6.

Example 6:
RM855.30  10 =
Procedure:
(a) For the example above, ask one student to write the division using long
division symbol on the blackboard.
The students should write: 10
(b) Then, ask them whether the number 855.30 can be divided by 10. You know
that 8 multiplied by 10 is equal to 80. Place 8 on top of the division and 80
below 85.
 (c) Next, subtract 85 – 80 = 5.
 (d) Ask them what number can produce the nearest

value to 55 when multiplied by 10. The answer is
5 (5  50 = 50). Put 5 on top of the division and
place 50 below 55 and subtract them. Place the
remaining number below. As 5 is smaller than 10,
to divide 5 by 10 you have to bring down 3 to
make 53. (There is decimal point before 3, so
place the decimal point on top of the division).
Again, ask for a number which when multiplied
by 10 will result in an answer less or equal to 53.
The answer is 5 (10  5 = 50). So put 5 on top of
the division. Then subtract: 53 – 50 = 3. Bring
down the digit 0 to make 30. Finally, ask for a
number which when multiplied by 10 will result in
an answer less or equal to 30. Since the answer is
3 (3  10 = 30), put 3 on top of the division.
Subtract 30 – 30 = 0. Hence 855.30  10 = 85.53.
Hence, RM855.30  10 = RM85.53.
Next, ask the students to do Example 7 by themselves and guide them as they do
the exercise to make sure they follow the steps above. The answer is given as
follows.

Example 7:
Divide RM45.05  5 =
Solution:
Divide the digits from left to right, divide 45  5 = 9, then, 5  5 = 1.
 Next, place the decimal point.
Hence, RM45.05  5 = RM9.01.
ACTIVITY 4.5
1. Find the multiplication of:

(a) 2  RM156 = (b) 7  RM644.50 =
(c) 5  RM987.80 = (d) 9  RM156 =
2. Calculate:
(a) RM56  6 =
(b) RM2,622  8 =
3. Find the multiplication of:

(a) 4  RM516 = (b) 5  RM106.30 =
(c) 8  RM89 = (d) 3  RM1,156.60 =
4. Solve the division of:

(a) RM55  5 = (b) RM660  6 =
(c) RM3,814  8 = (d) RM5,056  7 =

5. Do the following multiplication:

(a) 2  RM156 = (b) 7  RM644.50 =
(c) 5  RM987.80 = (d) 9  RM156 =
6. Divide the values below:

(a) RM5,805  5 = (b) RM9,668  6 =
(c) RM5,616  8 = (d) RM3,056  7 =
7. Fill in the blanks:

(a) 7  _________ = RM106.30
(b) 8  RM989.00 = ________
(c) 9  RM156.60 = _______
4.4 MIXED OPERATIONS INVOLVING MONEY

Let us look at mixed operations involving money. I am sure we have to deal with
a lot of calculations every day involving money. To calculate the problems
involving money, you must be familiar with the addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division of money. The following questions are needed to do
operations involving money:
(a) How to write the problem in mathematical symbols?

(b) How to add or subtract the number?
Let us look at Activity 5 that shows you how to perform this kind of calculation.
Activity 5: Mixed Operations Problem Involving Money
Objective:
By the end of this activity, your students will be able to use any of the mixed
operations to solve problems involving money.

Let us look at Example 8 to solve a mixed operation problem involving money.
Example 8:
A group of students were given RM200.00 to purchase some items. The teacher
later gave them another RM150.50. They used the money to buy some books
which cost RM235.89 in total. How much money do they have left?
Solution:
To solve this problem, you have to ask students to state all the information given.
Explain that when money is used to buy things, we subtract from the original
amount available.
Ask the students to write the problem mathematically as follows:
RM200.00 + RM150.50 – RM235.89 =
The students were given money, so we add the first two amounts of money:
RM 2 0 0 . 0 0
+ RM 1 5 0 . 5 0
RM 3 5 0 . 5 0
When the students purchased the books, money was spent, so we subtract
RM235.89 from the previous total:
RM 3 5 0 . 5 0
– RM 2 3 5 . 8 9
RM 1 1 4 . 6 1
Hence, the students have RM114.61 remaining after buying the books.
In Example 9, ask them to solve the problems by themselves. Guide them in

working out the answer by writing the problem in symbols. What operation can be
used and how to solve them?
Below are the answers for you to guide the students.

Example 9:
Mossa has RM9,835.34 in his bank account. He withdraws RM2,360.00 to buy a
television. The next month, he is able to save another RM1,004.40. How much
money does he have in the bank now?
How do you solve this?
Solution:
Write the problem in symbols:
RM9,835.34 – RM2,360.00 + RM1,004.40 =
Mossa spent the money on a television, so we subtract:
RM 9 8 3 5 . 3 4
– RM 2 3 6 0 . 0 0
RM 7 4 7 5 . 3 4
Later, he saved some money. Therefore, we add that amount to the balance he has
in the bank:
RM 7 4 7 5 . 3 4
+ RM 1 0 0 4 . 4 0
RM 8 4 7 9 . 7 4
Hence, Mossa has RM8,479.74 in the bank now.
4.5 ROUNDING OFF MONEY TO THE NEAREST

RINGGIT
Sometimes, we may need to round off the value of money to get an estimated
amount quickly. If we have many items to add or subtract, it is easier to calculate
by rounding off money to the nearest ringgit. In this case, we are actually trying to
estimate by ignoring the fractional part which is in sen. You have learnt how to do
rounding off in Topic 1, so this should not be a problem for you as the technique
is basically the same.

You need to remind your students that to round off to the nearest ringgit, look at
the value of the sen. If the value is 50 sen or more, ask them to round up.
Otherwise, round down.
Below are some examples for you and your students to try out:
Example 10:
Round off these amounts to the nearest ringgit.
(a) RM677.40
(b) RM79.90
(c) RM3,456.09
(d) RM568.55
Solution:
(a) RM677.40 is closer to RM677.00 rather than RM678.00. Therefore,
RM677.40 rounded off to the nearest ringgit is RM677.00.
(b) RM79.90 is closer to RM80.00 rather than RM79.00. Therefore, RM79.90

rounded off to the nearest ringgit is RM80.00.
(c) RM3,456.09 rounded off to the nearest ringgit is RM3,456.00.
(d) RM568.55 rounded off to the nearest ringgit is RM569.00.
Before we end this topic, let us test your understanding by doing Activity 4.6.

ACTIVITY 4.6
1. Samad, who is a farmer, sold his mangoes for RM6.50 per

kilogramme. Khatijah bought four kilogrammes of Samad’s mangoes.
She gave Samad RM50. How much change did Khatijah get in return?
2. Yaakob wants to put up a display for the Mathematics Department

meeting room. He needs three sheets of poster board for the display.
The three sheets cost RM1.30. He gave the clerk RM5. How much
change will he get back?
3. Hailey likes to chew bubble gum. On Monday, she bought three

packs of bubble gum for RM1.39 each. She gave the cashier RM5.
How much change should Hailey get?
4. The cost of a mathematics workbook is RM5.25 and the plastic book

cover costs RM0.50. How much does Ali get in return if he pays the
cashier RM10 for both items?
SELF-CHECK 4.1
1. What is the difference among addition, subtraction, multiplication

and division of money and whole numbers?
2. Discuss how you multiply RM55.25  30.
In this topic, we have learned:

 The value of money up to RM10,000;
 Addition and subtraction involving money;
 Mixed operations involving money by using addition and subtraction;
 Rounding off money to the nearest ringgit;

 Solving problems involving money;

 Guidelines to perform mixed operations involving money i.e.:
ă Write the problems in symbols.
ă What operation can be used and how to solve them.
Decimal point Rounding off
Division Short multiplication
Mixed operations Subtraction
Money transactions Whole numbers
Cardanha, J. M. (1993). Career math skills. Columbus, Ohio: McGraw-Hill

School Education Group.

mathematics year 3. Kuala Lumpur: Curriculum Development Centre.
Shum, K. W., & Chan, S. H. (2004). Reference text series KBSR year 4. Kuala
Lumpur: Pearson.

Topic  Time
5
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Read and write time in hours and minutes;
2. Explain the relationship between the different units of time;
3. Convert units of time;
4. Read a calendar, construct and extract information from a time
schedule;
5. Perform addition, subtraction, multiplication and division on units of
time;
6. Solve problems involving time in daily life; and
7. Discuss time duration.
 INTRODUCTION
Welcome to a new topic which is on the topic of time. Time is an important entity
in our lives. Very often, we want to know what time it is. You will feel lost
without knowing the time, especially when you are not wearing a watch. Time is
very important in many jobs. Very often we have to schedule our time in order to
plan our tasks properly. In school, students also have to adhere to a strict time
schedule. To do so we have to be familiar with units of time and also be able to
perform the basic operations on units of time.
This section will give you the instructions and practice to teach a lesson on the
subject of time. You will start off by learning how to read and write in hours and
minutes, followed by the relationship between units of time. Then you will learn

92  TOPIC 5 TIME
how to explain the calendar to students and complete some activities involving
constructing and extracting time schedules. Once you have mastered the techniques
of teaching that, you will then learn how to convert units of time. You will then
learn the operations of units of time (addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division). Lastly, you will learn to solve problems involving time in our daily life.
5.1 MINUTES, HOURS, DAYS, MONTHS,

YEARS AND DECADES
This section involves reading and writing the time. Activity 5.1 will guide you on
how to teach students about reading and writing the time.
ACTIVITY 5.1
1. Ask the students to read and write the time shown.
Half past five in the evening

___________________ pm
2. What is the time?
(a) Afternoon:
_________________
(b) Morning:
__________________

TOPIC 5 TIME  93
3. Write the time:

(a) Twenty five minutes past nine in the morning.
(b) Ten minutes to eight in the evening.
(c) Half past three in the afternoon.
4. Draw the correct hour and minute in the picture.
(a) Half past three in the

afternoon
(b) A quarter to twelve
5.1.1 Relationship between Units of Time

You can start this lesson by showing a clock to explain minutes and hours. The
longer hand of the clock shows minutes and the shorter hand of the clock shows
hours. A complete cycle of the longer hand clock is 60 minutes which makes the
shorter hand of the clock move to an hour. You may see the “second” hand on
some clocks visibly moving at every second. When this hand moves to a complete
cycle, it makes 1 minute.
Therefore, 1 min = 60 seconds and
1 hour = 60 minutes
Ask your students when the day begins and ends.
A day begins at 12:00 midnight and ends at the following 12:00 midnight.
A day lasts from 12:00am to 12:00pm and from 12:00pm to 12:00am.
12 hours + 12 hours = 24 hours
1 day = 24 hours

94  TOPIC 5 TIME
5.1.2 Time Scheduling

Time scheduling is important in our daily lives as it helps us do our work in a
systematic and orderly manner. Knowing how to do time scheduling makes us
more efficient in getting things done.
The following are some activities which you can work with the students.
ACTIVITY 5.2
1. Prepare some pictures of events happening at certain times. State

clearly the time on each picture. Then ask the students to write down
the activities corresponding to the time in a table as follows:
Time Activities
2. Plan a project that requires the students to work in groups. This project
must give them practice of writing time.

TOPIC 5 TIME  95
5.1.3 Reading a Calendar
Figure 5.1: Calendar for a leap year
Now, let us look at the calendar given in Figure 5.1. How many months and days
are there in a year? One year consists of 12 months.

96  TOPIC 5 TIME
Note that 365 days will make one year. However, the total number of days in one
year will become 366 days, when the number of days in February is 29 days. This
year is called a leap year.
Activity 5.3 will help your students understand how to read a calendar better.
ACTIVITY 5.3
1. Ask the students to think of a specific month. Then ask them the
dates of special occasions happening in that month, e.g., school
holidays, festive celebrations and etc.
2. Abu went on a climbing trip to Gunung Ledang on the 29th of

January 2009. It was a six-day trip. On what date was he back?
Decade and Year

Do you know how many years there are in a decade? A decade comprises ten
years (one decade = 10 years).
What year would it be a decade from 2008? See Figure 5.2 for the answer.
Figure 5.2: Decades and years

TOPIC 5 TIME  97
SELF-CHECK 5.1
1. How many days are there in:

(a) 24 hours (b) 72 hours
2. How many years are there in:

(a) 12 months (b) 36 months
3. How many days are there in:

(a) A non-leap year (b) December and January
5.1.4 Converting Units of Time

After students have learned the relationship between units of time, they are ready
to learn the conversion of units of time. To teach the conversion of years to days,
you have to remind the students about non-leap year and leap year. Let us look at
the conversion of a year to days first.
(a) Year to Days

In converting year to days, you normally need to consider a non-leap year
(one year = 365 days). Then, for finding the days in n years, the calculation
is:
n  365 days
Converting n years to days for a leap year (1 year = 366 days) is as follows:
n  366 days
Example 1:
A convenience store operates seven days in a week. How many days does it
operate in three years?
What is asked for? How many days are there in three years?
What is given? The shop operates seven days a week.
Solution:
3 years = 3  365 days = 1 095 days

98  TOPIC 5 TIME
(b) Days to Years

You can explain to the students that in converting days to years, you have to
use subtraction. Again, normally we will use a non-leap year. You can show
this conversion by referring to Example 2 below.
Example 2:
Convert 1,460 days to years.
1 4 6 0 days
– 3 6 5
1 0 9 5 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 4 years
– 3 6 5
7 3 0
– 3 6 5
3 6 5
– 3 6 5
0
Hence, 1,460 days = 4 years.
SELF-CHECK 5.2
1. Convert five years to days.

2. Convert 2,190 days to minutes.
3. Convert 1,130 days to years and days.
(c) Decades to Years

You can tell a story to your students to describe this topic. Let us talk about
Tunku Abdul Rahman, our first Prime Minister of Malaysia. Tunku was
born 10 decades and 5 years before 2008. How many years have passed?
Ask again how many years is a decade to refresh your students’ memories.
The answer is as follows:
10 decades = 10 10 = 100

5 years = 5
10 decades 5 years = 100 + 5 = 105 years

TOPIC 5 TIME  99
(d) Years to Decade

Sometimes, we need to convert years to decades. In converting years to
decades, we can use the following relationship of time:
10 years = 1 decade
Then, you can demonstrate the conversion of years to days as in Example 3.
Example 3:
185 years = _____ decades ______ years
Decades
Years
185 years = 18 decades and 5 years.
SELF-CHECK 5.3
1. Convert the following decades to years:

(a) 10 decades (b) 50 decades
2. Convert 56 years to decades and years.
(e) Years to Months

You can begin the lesson by telling your students that they can convert years
to months by knowing that one year consists of 12 months. Then, we can use
multiplication to do the conversion. Let us try to do this in Example 4.
Example 4:
Convert 1/2 year to months.
Solution:
1 year = 12 months
Then 1/2 year = 1/2  12 = 6 months
1/2 year = 6 months

100  TOPIC 5 TIME
(f) Months to Years

We have learnt that in order to convert years to month, we need to do
multiplication. How about vice versa? Well, when changing from months to
years, you have to use division. Let us look at this calculation in Example 5.
Example 5:
Convert 48 months to years.
Solution:
We know that 12 months is equivalent to one year.
48 months is equivalent to 48  12. So, you can use long division as in:
4 Years
12 48
ă 48
0
48 months = 4 years.
Example 6:
Convert 148 months to years and months.
Solution:
Years
Months
Hence, 148 years = 12 years 4 months.

TOPIC 5 TIME  101
SELF-CHECK 5.4
Convert the following units of time:

(a) 1/3 year = _____ months
(b) 4 months = _____ years
(c) 56 months = _____ years ______ months
(g) Days to Hours

Students have to know the relationship between days and hours before they
can do the conversion of days to hours or hours to days. They must be
reminded that the relationship is 24 hours = 1 day. You can show students
how to use division to convert hours to days and multiplication to convert
days to hours.
Example 7:
Dani goes to school one third of the day. How many hours does he spend in
school?
Solution:
1/3 days = ____hours
We know that, 1 day = 24 hours
Therefore, 1/3 day = 24  3 hours = 8 hours
Hence, 1/3 day = 8 hours.
(h) Hours to Days

You can introduce this lesson by explaining that the earth rotates around its
axis and moves around the sun. The earth’s complete rotation around its axis
in one cycle makes a day. Half a cycle makes daytime and another half
makes night time. So, this is a complete one cycle or 24 hours.
Tell your students that when you convert from hours to days, this means that
you convert a bigger value to a smaller value. To do this conversion, you
have to use division.

Example 8:
120 hours = ____days
Solution:
24 hours = 1 day
120 hours = 120  24 days
5  days
24 120
– 120
0  hours
Hence, 120 hours = 5 days.
Example 9:
165 hours = _____days ______hours
Solution:
6  days
24 165
– 144
21  hours
Hence, 165 hours = 6 days 21 hours.
Now we are going to learn how to convert units of time involving hours and
minutes.
This section involves the conversion of:

(i) Hours to minutes;
(ii) Minutes to hours;
(iii) Hours and minutes to minutes; and
(iv) Minutes to hours and minutes.
Before we continue, you need to tell your students that it is important to

remember 1 hour = 60 minutes when doing this conversion.

(i) Hours to Minutes

You are encouraged to teach the conversion of hours to minute first,
followed by minutes to hours. This is done to show that the second way of
conversion is just the opposite of the first. To develop this skill, you can
look at Example 10 and demonstrate the solution to them as shown below.
Example 10:
Zarina spends three hours to make cookies. How long does she spend to
make cookies in minutes?
Solution:
1 hour = 60 minutes
When converting hours to minutes, you need to multiply the respective
hours by 60.
Now, to convert three hours into minutes, you need to multiply 3 by 60.
3 hours = 3  60 minutes
= 180 minutes
Hence, 3 hours = 180 minutes.
(j) Minutes to Hours

Guide your students by saying that when we convert minutes to hours, we
have to think the other way round, which is 60 minutes = 1 hour. Then, we
have to divide the respective minutes by 60.
Example 11:
300 minutes = ____hours
Solution:
60 minutes = 1 hours
Therefore, 300 minutes = 300/60 = 5 hours
5  hours
60 300  minutes
– 300
0  minutes
So the answer is 5 hours.

(k) Hours and Minutes to Minutes

Students always read time in hours and minutes. Therefore, it is important to
know how to convert the time unit in hours and minutes to minutes. For
example, in sports, the judges would like to know how long athletes who
complete their run in hours and minutes in minutes. In doing so, you just
convert the hours to minutes then you add the minutes. Let us look at how to
do it in Example 12.
Example 12:
5 hours 30 minutes = _______minutes
Solution:
Convert 5 hours to minutes and then add 30 minutes
= 5  60 + 30 minutes
= 300 + 30 minutes
= 330 minutes
Therefore, 5 hours 30 minutes = 330 minutes.
(l) Minutes to Hours and Minutes

You should explain that it is important to know how to convert minutes to
hours and minutes. For example, how long does the rain fall in a certain
day? In converting minutes to hours and minutes, you have to use division
operations. Minutes are divided by 60, giving the result in hours and the
remainder in minutes.
Example 13:
690 minutes = _____hours _____minutes
Solution:
 Hours
 Minutes
660 minutes = 11 hours 30 minutes.

ACTIVITY 5.4
Convert the following:
(a) 3/4 hours = _____minutes (b) 1/2 hour = _______minutes
(c) 4 hours = ______minutes (d) 8 hours = _______minutes
(e) 10 hours = ______minutes (f) 12 hours = _______minutes
(g) 60 minutes = ______hour (h) 180 minutes = ______hours

INVOLVING TIME
Now, we will learn addition and subtraction involving time. The objectives for
this section are as follows:
(a) Identify the relationship between addition and subtraction of time.

(b) Use addition and subtraction to solve word problems involving time.
5.2.1 Addition Involving Units of Time

There are several concepts in the addition of time that students have to acquire.
The concepts are given below:
Adding the number of hours to hours of time.

(a) If the addition of hours is equal to a number less than 12, take it as it is.
(b) If the addition of hours results in a number greater than 12, advise students
to:
(i) Subtract 12 from the number of hours. Change am to pm. If it is pm
change it to am.
(ii) If the number is still greater than 12, repeat this process.
(c) If the number of hours is 12, change from either am to pm or pm to am.

Example 14:
What time is 15 hours after 10.00am?
Solution:
Add the
15 hours + 10 hours = 25 hours
hours
If the number of hours is more than 12, do the following:
25 hours – 12 hours = 13 hours Subtract 12 from

13:00 the number of hours
Change the am to pm
Repeat the process until the number of hours is less than 12.
13 hours – 12 hours = 1 hours Subtract 12 from
1.00am the number of hours
Change the pm to am
Sometimes, we need to add minutes to minutes and express the time in hours and
minutes. Do you know how to do this? Well, do the following:
(a) Add the minutes to minutes.

(b) Then, divide the total of minutes by 60.
(c) The dividend becomes hours and the remainder becomes minutes.
Example 15:
What time is it in hours and minutes?
35 minutes + 55 minutes = ____hours ____minutes?
Solution:
35 minutes
+ 55 minutes 1  hour
60 90  minutes
90 minutes
 60  minutes
30
35 minutes + 55 minutes = 1 hour 30 minutes.

How about the addition of months? The following steps are used to calculate the
addition of months in the expression of years and months:
(a) Add months to months.

(b) Then, convert it into years and months by dividing it with 12 (1 year = 12
months).
(c) The dividend becomes years and the remainder becomes months.
Example 16:
Calculate the total below in years and months:
25 months + 48 months = years months.
Solution:
25 months 6  years
+ 48 months 12 73  months
73 months – 72
1  month
25 months + 48 months = 6 years 1 month.
Based on the previous knowledge of decades and years, it is hoped that students
can do the addition of years and convert them to decades and years. As a teacher,
you can guide them to use the following steps to do the calculation:
(a) Add years to years.

(b) Then, convert it into decades and years by dividing it with 10 (1 decade = 10
years).
(c) The dividend becomes decades and the remainder becomes years.

Example 17:
Write the addition below in decades and years:

40 years + 21 years = ____decades _____years
Solution:
40 years 6  decades
+ 21 years 10 61  years
61 years – 60
1  year
40 years + 21 years = 6 decades 1 year.
Next, we will look at the subtraction involving time, which focuses on:
(a) Subtraction between minutes.

(b) Subtraction between months.
(c) Subtraction between years.
Tell the students why we need to subtract time. Give them some real-life
examples to show its importance. We subtract time to find the difference in time
or how much time has passed. It will be explained in the following sub-topic.
5.2.2 Subtraction Involving Units of Time

(a) Subtraction between Minutes
Let us follow these steps to do the subtraction of two units of time in
minutes:
(i) Subtract the smaller time with the larger time.

(ii) Your answer should be in minutes.
(iii) Convert minutes to hours and minutes, whenever necessary, using:
1 hour = 60 minutes.

Example 18:
What is 111 minutes minus 47 minutes?
Solution:
111 minutes – 47 minutes =

64 minutes
1  hour
1 hour = 60 minutes 60 64
So 64 minutes = 64  60 = – 60
1 hour 4 minutes 4
Minutes
111
– 47
64
Answer: One hour 4 minutes
(b) Subtraction between months

For subtracting values in months, you can follow these guidelines:
(i) Subtract the smaller time from the larger time.
(ii) Your answer should be in months.
(iii) Convert months to years and months, when necessary: 1 year = 12
months
Example 19:
What is 35 months – 14 months?
Solution:
Months
35 1  year
– 14 12 21
21 – 12
9  months
35 months –14 months = 21 months

1 year = 12 months
So, 21 months = 21  12 = 1 year 9 months
Answer: One year 9 months

(c) Subtraction between years

For subtracting values in months, you can follow these guidelines:
(i) Subtract the smaller time from the larger time.
(ii) Your answer should be in years.
(iii) Convert years to decades and years, when necessary: 1 decade =
10 years
Example 20:
What is 74 years – 29 years?
Years
74  decades
– 29
45
 years
74 years – 29 years = 45 years

1 decade = 10 years
So, 45 years = 45  10 = 4 decades 5 years
Answer: 4 decades 5 years
SELF-CHECK 5.5
Solve the following operations:

(a) 33 minutes + 56 minutes = ______hours______minutes
(b) 97 months + 12 months = _____years______months
(c) 37 years – 18 years = ______decades______years
(d) 20 months – 5 months = _____ years ____months


INVOLVING TIME
In the following subtopics, you will learn about multiplication and division
involving units of time, solving problems involving time and time duration.
5.3.1 Multiplication Involving Units of Time

You can do multiplication involving time by multiplying a time interval by a
scalar (unitless value). However, you have to be careful – you cannot multiply
two different units of time together. Look at Example 21 that can guide you to
multiply the unit of time with a scalar.
Example 21:
48 minutes  2 = ___minutes
Solution:
48
 2
9 6 minutes.
After you have multiplied and got a value more than 60 minutes, you can change
it into hours and minutes. This can be done by subtracting the multiplication value
by 60 minutes (one hour). Note that you can also use division to do this.
That is 96 – 60 = 36 minutes.
Next, the answer will be:

48 minutes  2 = 96 minutes = 1 hour 36 minutes.
You have to remind your students for the multiplication of months with a scalar,
they need to do the same calculation except that, when the multiplication value is
greater than 12 months, they have to convert it into years and months. The
conversion is done by dividing the result of the multiplication by 12 (one year =
12 months).

Example 22:
15 months  5 = ?
Solution:
15 months
Now, 75 months is greater than 12;
 5 therefore, convert them into years and
75 months months by dividing 75 by 12 months.
15  5 = 75 months = 6 years 3 months.
Next, when you multiply years with a scalar and if the result is greater than 10
years, you can convert the result into decades and years. This is done by dividing
the result by 10 (one decade = 10 years).
Example 23:
18 years  7 = ___decades _____years
Solution:
18 years
126 years is greater than 10;
 7
therefore, convert it into decades
126 years and years by dividing 126 by 10.
18 years  7 = 126 years = 12 decades 6 years.
5.3.2 Division Involving Units of Time

As a teacher, you should tell your students that time intervals can also be divided
by a scalar (unitless value). You have to remind them that time cannot be divided
by another time. The units calculated may have to be changed. The following
steps will help you to divide time with a scalar:
 Change hours and minutes to minutes if the question is given in hours and
minutes.
 Divide the minutes with a given scalar.

 If the dividend is greater than 60 minutes, then divide it by 60. The dividend is
the hours and the remainder is the minutes.
(a) Changing Minutes into Hours and Minutes

Example 24:
150 minutes  2 = ____hour ____minutes
75 minutes is greater than 60;

therefore convert them into hours and
minutes by dividing 75 by 60.
Therefore, half of 150 minutes is 1 hour and 15 minutes.
(b) Changing Months into Years and Months

The section will assist you in guiding your students to divide the months
with a given scalar. The principle is:
If the dividend is greater than 12 months, then divide it by 12. The dividend
is the years and the remainder is the months.
Example 25:
128 months  8 = ____years ____months
Solution:
16 months is greater than 12;

therefore, convert them into years
and months by dividing 16 by 12.
128 months  8 = 1 years 4 months.

(c) Changing Years into Decades and Years

You should tell your students that the division of the years with a given
scalar is done in such a way:
If the dividend is greater than 10 years, then divide it by 10 (1 decade =

10 years). The dividend is the years and the remainder is in months.
Example 26:
114 years  6 = ____decades _____years
Solution:
19 years is greater than 10; therefore,

convert them into decades and years by
dividing 19 by 10.
114 years  6 = 1 decade 9 years.
5.3.3 Solving Problems Involving Time

Problems involving time usually involve operations of addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division of time. You have to encourage your students to
change the amount of time into the same units in order to solve problems.
When solving problems, the students should ask the following questions:
(a) What is given?

(b) What is asked for?
(c) What operations are needed?

Example 27:
Hanafiah stopped at Ella's restaurant for lunch. He stayed there for 210 minutes
until he had to leave to meet his friend, Wahab, at the bus station. The bus station
is a 20-minute walk from Ella's restaurant. What is the total time taken by
Hanafiah by the time he met his friend?
Solution:
What information is given? Stayed at restaurant: 210 minutes
Time spent walking: 20 minutes
What is asked for? Total time
Solution 210 minutes + 20 minutes = 230 minutes
Hanafiah spent 230 minutes
Example 28:
It takes one year for the earth to move around the sun in a complete cycle.
Calculate how many decades and years the earth needs to make 35 circles around
the sun.
Solution:
What information is given? The earth moves around the sun in 1 year
Earth makes 35 circles around the sun
What is asked for? How many decades the earth needs?
What operations are needed? Multiplication and division
Solution 1 circle = 1 year

35 circles = 35  1 = 35 years
Change 35 years to decades and years 35 years  10 = 3 decades 5 years
The earth needs 3 decades 5 years to circle around the sun.

Example 29:
John Thompson’s construction company plans to build a housing project in eight
equal phases. Each phase will take 160 months to complete. How many years and
months does it take to complete each phase?
Solution:
What information is given? 8 equal phases of building the housing
project
What is asked for? Time of completion of the first phase
What operations are needed? Division
Solution
Divide 160 months by 8 phases
Use division to change months into

years and months
(One year = 12 months)
Time of completion of the first phase = One year and 8 months
5.3.4 Time Duration

There are many occasions where we need to know the time duration of an event.
For example, the time duration of a movie or the time taken to drive from Kuala
Lumpur to Melaka. You could show an example of time duration to your students
by cutting out the segment on television programmes in the newspapers for the
students to see. Then you could ask the students questions relating to the
programme times.
The following examples are graphical interpretations of time duration, which may
be helpful for you in class.

Example 30:
John has swimming classes from 5.30pm till 7.00pm. How long is his class?
Solution:
Draw a timeline for your students to see. Mark down the important time which
were given and label appropriately to demonstrate how the time had passed. Refer
to Figure 5.3.
Figure 5.3: Swimming classes timeline
Example 31:
Amy does her homework for 50 minutes every day. If she starts her work at
4.15pm each day, what time will she stop?
Solution:
As in Example 30, draw a timeline for your students to see. Mark down the
important times which were given and label appropriately to demonstrate how the
time had passed. Refer to Figure 5.4.
Figure 5.4: Homework timeline

Before we end this topic, try the activities below.
ACTIVITY 5.5
1. I began reading my book at 7.47pm and finished reading the book at

8.03pm. How long was I reading the book?
2. I started my homework at 5.36pm and completed it by 6.02pm. How
long did I take to complete my homework?
3. I began watching a TV programme at 9.30pm. It finished 34 minutes
later. What time did it end?
4. I began making fairy cakes at 3.32pm and it took me 45 minutes to
do it and clean up. What time did I finish?
5. I went for my 48-minute swimming lesson at 10.28am. What time
did it end?
6. I began practising my recorder at 2.30pm. I played for 59 minutes.
What time did I finish?
7. The 75-minute football match began at 1.22pm. What time did it
end?
8. The 27-minute assembly began at 10.10am and lasted for 20
minutes. What time did the first lesson begin?
9. The children began their 55 minutes mathematics lesson at 9.10am.
Immediately after that, they had 25 minutes of music lesson. What
time did both lessons end?

ACTIVITY 5.6
Objective: To teach time using a timeline.
1. Show the students a clock. Set the time to 8:50am. Then, move the
hands of the clock to 9.00am and to 9.10am.
Tell them that to understand it better, the time mentioned can be

drawn on a straight line below:
Ask the students: What is 20 minutes past 8.50am?

Answer: 9.10am.
2. Draw a table to show the times for the departure of the commuter
train.
6.50am 7.15am 7.35am 7.50am 8.05am
The time is 7.20am. How long do you have to wait for the next train?
The commuter train which should have departed at 7.35am is 20

minutes late. What time did you board that train?
The earliest commuter leaves at 6.50am and arrives at the last station
at 12.00pm. How long was the train journey?

ACTIVITY 5.7
Objective: To let students understand time before and after.
Ask your students to indicate the following times on the clock face:
(a) 10 minutes after 9.00am (b) 30 minutes after 5.00pm
(c) 5 minutes before midnight (d) 25 minutes before 4.00pm

 How to read and write time in hours and minutes;
 The relationship between units of time;
 Converting units of time;
 Reading a calendar, constructing and extracting information from a time
schedule;
 Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division on units of time;
 Solving problems involving time in daily life; and
 Calculating time duration.

Days Minutes
Decades Months
Hours Seconds
Leap year Shorter hand
Longer hand Weeks
Minute after Years
Minute before

Shum, K. W., & Chan, S. H. (2004). Reference text series KBSR Year 4. Kuala
Lumpur: Pearson.
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (2007). Primary mathematics/time math. Retrieved


Topic  Length
6
LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Measure lengths using standard units;
2. Identify the relationship between units of lengths;
3. Add and subtract units of lengths;
4. Multiply and divide units of lengths; and
5. Solve problems involving length.
 INTRODUCTION
Do you know that in the real world, there are numbers with units and non-units
(scalar)? Units have association with most numbers. In mathematics, there are
special rules when doing calculation involving numbers with units.
In this topic, you will learn about the units of length. You will learn about the
measurements of length in standard units and also the relationship between these
units. Once you are familiar with the units, you can perform mathematical
operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division on them.
Lastly, we will look at how to use these skills in solving real-life problems.

TOPIC 6 LENGTH  123
6.1 MEASURING LENGTHS

There are two systems for measuring length or a distance between two points. The
two systems are the traditional system and the metric system. In the traditional
system, length or distance is measured in inches, feet, yards, miles, etc. While in
the metric system, length or distance is measured in millimetres, centimetres,
metres, kilometres, etc.
I am sure you know that the short length of an object can be measured using a
ruler. To get the exact measurement, it is important to acquire the skills and
knowledge in reading a ruler. Remember, always read the measurement with a
ruler in a direct line, not at an angle.
Figure 6.1: Reading the measurement of length with a ruler
Do you know that the metric system is based on numbers with base ten? Just look
at the diagram below. The metre is the standard unit and portions of the metre are
in divisions of ten. You can see the difference between a centimetre and a
millimetre as shown in the picture of a ruler in Figure 6.1.
Ask your students to look at their own rulers and examine the scales on them.
Make them aware that either “cm” or “mm” is marked on the ruler. Teach them
how to read the values on the ruler. You can start by showing them how to
measure items in the classroom.
Always start measuring any length of an object by placing the object at the zero
mark of a ruler.
Figure 6.2: Measurement of length

124  TOPIC 6 LENGTH
The length of the pencil in Figure 6.2 is 90 millimetres or 9 centimetres long.

Activity 6.1 is a good exercise for your students to try out in class. Monitor their
ability to read and write out the measurement of length.
ACTIVITY 6.1
Activity Sheet
Objective: By the end of the lesson, your students should be able to
measure the length in centimetres and metres.
Now, you can ask the students to do some activities using a long ruler:
(a) Measure the length of a book.

(b) Measure the length of the whiteboard.
(c) Measure the length and height of the doors,
windows etc.
Give the answers in centimetres and millimetres.
There are also rulers that show the scale in metres. One metre is made up
of 100cm.
100cm = 1m
6.2 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN UNITS OF

LENGTH
What we see in most measurement tools especially rulers are units of centimetres
or millimetres. The ruler is commonly used when the length of an object is not too
long. However, when we need to measure very long distances, for example, from
one room to another or from one town to another, we need other units of
measurements such as metres or kilometres.
This topic discusses the relationship between units of metres, centimetres and
kilometres. We will now look at Example 1.

Example 1:
How long is this nail in Figure 6.3? Write the
length in centimetres and millimetres.
Solution:
The length is 3cm.
To convert the length in millimetres, you have to
introduce to your students the relationship
between centimetre and millimetre. Figure 6.3: Measurement of a
nail
That is:
1cm = 10mm
So the length of the nail above is 3  10 = 30mm.
You can ask your students to count the scales on the ruler to help them understand
the relationship between 1cm and 10 mm. Also, explain that sometimes different
units are used to show the length of measurement. It is important to know how to
convert one unit to another unit of measurement.
You can use Table 6.1 to help your students to remember the metric units for
length.
Table 6.1: Metric Units for Length
Abbreviation Full Form Meaning Equivalent
mm millimetre One thousandth of a metre 10mm = 1cm
1,000mm = 1m
cm centimetre One hundredth of a metre 100cm = 1m
m metre One thousandth of a kilometre 1,000m = 1km
To measure very short lengths, such as the length of your big toe or a strand of
hair, we usually use centimetres. When we want to measure longer lengths or
distances, we usually use metres. For example, we measure the height of a fence
or the length of a basketball court in metres.

ACTIVITY 6.2
Units of Measurement
The activities below will consider which units are to be used and the errors
made when measuring lengths.
Objective: You need to be able to use millimetres (mm), centimetres (cm)

and metres (m).
Give the most appropriate unit for measuring each item below:
(a) The height of the bar in a high jump in centimetres.

(b) The height of a lorry in metres.
(c) The length of your finger in millimetres.
(d) The size of your desk in centimetres.
(e) The distance between your classroom and the canteen in metres.
6.3 CONVERT UNITS OF LENGTH

Before you teach your students how to convert units of lengths, you should talk to
them about something that is related with our daily life. You can tell them that we
often measure the length of objects in our daily life that requires more than one
unit. Therefore, you need to know how to convert from one unit of length to
another unit of length.
This section will illustrate the conversion involving units of lengths. Here are the
procedures for a teacher to teach students the conversion involving units of
lengths:
If a smaller unit is to be converted to a larger unit number,

divide the number with the equivalent number ()
If a larger unit is to be converted to a smaller unit number,

multiply the number with the equivalent number ()

For a simplified version, you can look at Figure 6.4 which shows a procedure to
convert units of length.
Figure 6.4: Procedure to convert units of length
Now, let us look at the conversion of units one by one.
(a) Centimetre to Millimetre

Example 2:
13.5cm = ____mm A centimetre (cm) is bigger than a

1cm = 10mm millimetre, so to convert a bigger unit to
13.5cm = 13.5  10mm a smaller unit, we use multiplication.
= 135mm 1cm = 10mm, so we multiply by 10.
You could also show it this way:
13.5cm = 13cm + 0.5cm
= 130mm + 5mm
= 135mm
(b) Millimetre to Centimetre

Example 3:
115mm = ____cm A centimetre (cm) is bigger than a

1cm = 10mm millimetre, so to convert a smaller unit to
10cm = 100mm a bigger unit, we use division.
115mm = 115  10cm 1cm = 10mm, so we divide by 10.
= 11.5cm You could also show it this way:
115mm = 100mm + 15mm
= 10cm + 1.5cm
= 11.5cm

(c) Centimetre to Metre

Example 4:
Convert 250cm to metres. A centimetre (cm) is smaller than a metre,

100cm = 1m so to convert a smaller unit to a larger
250cm = 250  100cm unit, we divide. 100cm = 1m, so we divide
= 2.5m by 100.
(d) Metre to Centimetre

Example 5:
Convert 3.5m to centimetres. A centimetre (cm) is smaller than a metre,

1m = 100cm so to convert a larger unit to a smaller unit,
3.5m = 3.5  100cm we multiply by 100 as 1m = 100cm.
= 350cm
(e) Centimetre and Millimetre to Millimetre

You should begin this section by explaining to the students that some
lengths are measured in centimetres and millimetres. In order to convert
centimetres and millimetres to millimetres, you have to follow these two
steps below:
Step 1: Convert centimetres to millimetres using multiplication.

Step 2: Then, add the millimetres.
Example 6:
5.5cm 3mm = ____mm Convert centimetres (cm) to

5.5cm = 5.5  10 = 55mm millimetres, multiply by 10. Then
55mm + 3mm = 58mm add the numbers which have the
same unit (millimetres).

(f) Centimetre and Millimetre to Centimetre

The length of any object in centimetre and millimetre can also be converted
to centimetre. Do you know how? Well, let us look at the following steps.
Step 1: Convert millimetre to centimetre by using division (Divide the

number by 10).
Step 2: Add the numbers which are of the same unit of measurement
(centimetre).
Step 3: Assign the unit to the number.
Example 7:
8cm 6mm = ____cm Convert from millimetre (mm) to centimetre (cm),

divide by 10.
6mm = 6  10 = 0.6cm Then add the numbers which have the same unit of
measurement.
8cm + 0.6cm = 8.6cm Assign the unit in centimetre to the number.
(g) Metre and Centimetre to Metre

You can inform your students that they can also convert the length of any
object in centimetre and millimetre to metre. Follow these three steps:
Step 1: Convert centimetre to metre by using division (Divide the number

by 100).
(metres).
Example 8:
8m 6cm = ____cm Convert from metre (m) to centimetre (cm), divide

by 100.
6cm = 6  100 = 0.06m Then add the numbers which have the same unit of
measurement.
8m + 0.06m = 8.06m Assign the unit in metres to the number.

(h) Metre and Centimetre to Centimetre

To convert metres and centimetre to centimetre, follow these three steps:
Step 1: Convert centimetre to metres by using multiplication (Multiply the

number by 100).
(centimetre).
Example 9:
8m 6cm = ____m Convert from centimetre (cm) to metre (m),

multiply by 100.
8cm = 8  100 = 800cm Then add the numbers which have the same unit of
measurement.
800cm + 6cm = 806cm Assign the unit in centimetre to the number.

INVOLVING UNITS OF LENGTH
You can introduce this section to the students by explaining that addition or
subtraction of units of length is similar to doing previous addition and subtraction
operations. However, there are rules that have to be followed when doing addition
or subtraction with units of length. The following rules will guide you to teach
your students in solving addition and subtraction problems involving length.
If the units are the same:

Add or subtract normally.
If the units are different, then:

Convert one of the units so that both are of the same units, then you can apply
addition and subtraction.
Finally, assign the unit to the number.

One important note that we have to remember is that if the units cannot be
converted to the same unit, you cannot perform addition and subtraction.
Example 10:
There are two sofas arranged in line with the two ends touching each other. One
of the sofas is larger than the other and their lengths are 125cm and 98cm
respectively. What is the total length of both sofas? Refer to Figure 6.5.
Solution:
Figure 6.5: Addition of length
You can show how to write the addition of the length of both sofas mathematically
as:
125cm + 98cm = _____cm
Advise the students as follows. Before they add two units of length, make sure
that both lengths are of similar units.
Ask the students whether the units of both The answer is yes.
lengths are similar.
If yes, then add normally. You can add both numbers as:

Example 11:
Add the following measurements and give your answer in metres.
38cm + 35cm = ____m
Solution:
In the example above, just add the measurements as usual because they are in the
same unit. Next, you need to convert the answer from centimetres to metres by
using division ().
100cm = 1m
3 8 cm The units are the same, add the numbers.

+ 3 5 cm
Write the unit after the number.
7 3 cm
73cm  100 = 0.73m.
So, 38cm + 35cm = 0.73m
Next, you can explain to your students that for addition or subtraction of units of
length in centimetres and millimetres, you should do the following:
Step 1: Add the like units.

Step 2: See if you can express the smaller unit in terms of the larger units.
Step 3: Add the numbers of the larger unit.
Step 4: Convert the number to a specific unit of measurement.

Example 12:
Find the answer of the following addition:
8m 65cm + 5m 54cm = _____m
Solution:
8m 6 5cm The units are the same, add the numbers.
+ 5m 5 4 cm
Assign the unit to the number.
1 3m 1 1 9 cm
1 3m Express the smaller unit in terms of the larger units.

+ 1m 1 9 cm Since 119cm is larger than 100cm (1m), regroup:
1 4 m 1 9 cm 119cm = 100cm + 19cm

= 1m 19cm
Add 1 to 13m, 13m + 1m = 14m.
Hence, 13m 119cm = 14m 19cm.
Next, to convert 14m 19cm to metres, you have to use conversion units from cm
to m (100cm = 1m). Express the measurement numbers as:
14m 19cm = 14m + 0.19m

= 14.19m
In the section below, you can introduce examples of subtraction of units of length.
To find the difference between two units of lengths, use subtraction. The
following four steps depict how to subtract the lengths of two objects.
If the two numbers of measurement have like units, then:
Step 1: Arrange the larger number above the smaller number.

Step 2: Subtract the numbers from right to left.
Step 3: Convert the numbers to a specific measurement unit if needed.

Example 13:
The distance between Borhan and the book store is 13m. If a taxi stand lies in
between the two, with a distance of six metres from Borhan, find the distance
between the taxi stand and the book store.
Solution:
In finding the difference, you have to use subtraction.
1 3m Arrange the number 13 above 6.

 6m
Subtract the numbers.
7m
Write the unit symbol after 7, to produce the answer 7m.
Example 14:
Subtract the distances below:
9,065mm – 6,645mm = ____cm
9 0 6 5 mm Arrange the number (larger

 6 6 4 5 mm above, smaller below).
2 4 2 0 mm Subtract the numbers.
Assign the unit to the answer.

2,420mm = 2,000mm + 400mm + 20mm You need to write the answer in
= 200cm + 40cm + 2cm cm, so convert 2,420mm to cm.
= 242cm
Use conversion unit:
or 2,420mm  10 = 242cm 10mm = 1cm

Example 15:
Solve the following equation:
16m 26cm – 6m 45cm = ____m
Solution:
15 126 Arrange the number 16m 26cm above 6m
16 m 26 cm 45m.
 6 m 45 cm
Subtract the like numbers. 26cm is smaller
9m 81 cm
than 45cm, so borrow 1m (100cm) from
16m to get 100cm + 26cm = 126cm. 1m
deducted from 16m deduct will result in
15m.
Assign the units to the numbers 9m 81cm.
9m 81cm = 9m + 81cm The answer needed is in metres, so convert

= 9m + 0.81m 9m 81cm to unit m. Use conversion unit:
= 9.81m
100cm = 1m.

INVOLVING UNITS OF LENGTH
Previously, you have taught the students multiplication and division of numbers
with a scalar unit. In most cases, multiplication and division units of length are
done the same way. You can perform multiplication and division of lengths with
scalars. You can ask the students to do this by performing normal multiplication
or division and then writing the answer in the units given. Here are some activities
on how to multiply length with a scalar unit.

ACTIVITY 6.3
Multiply Lengths with a Scalar
Objectives:
By the end of this activity, your students should be able to:
(a) Understand multiplication is a repeated addition of length; and
(b) To multiply length with a scalar.
Materials:
Ruler, Figure, Boxes
Procedure:
1. Read the following multiplication of length with a scalar.

Multiply the following length with a given scalar.
6  45mm = ______mm
2. Explain to your students that the multiplication above can be done by

using the following example:
45mm 45mm 45mm 45mm 45mm 45mm
Suppose there are six equal lengths of boxes that are attached
together as shown above.
3. Use a ruler to measure the length of each box.
4. Then, measure the total length in cm of all of the boxes above.
5. Next, add all the individual lengths.
6. Compare the answers you obtained in (4) and (5).

7. Now, multiply the length of each box = 45 mm by the number of

boxes.
3
6  45 mm  4 5 mm
 6 mm
Hence, 6  45mm = 270mm
2 7 0 mm
8. Ask the students whether the answers obtained in (4), (5) and (7) are
similar.
Lastly, you can explain to the students that if they want to find the length of
six boxes, they can just multiply the length with a scalar.
Next, let us do Worksheet 1.
Worksheet 1
Multiply the length with the scalar and give answers in the units mentioned.
(a) 10  85mm = ______ m (e) 5  6.5cm = ______ mm

(b) 100  8.5mm = ______ cm (f) 10  85mm = ______ cm
(c) 1,000  4.8cm = ______ m (g) 1,000  5.8cm = ______ m
(d) 3  7m  45cm = ______ cm (h) 4  5m  54cm = ______ cm
We shall try out some examples for the division of units of length with a scalar.

ACTIVITY 6.4
Divide a Length with a Three-Digit Scalar
Objective:
By the end of this activity, your students should be able to divide length
with a three-digit scalar.
Solve: 4,900m  100 = ____m
Solution:
(a) 100 is a three-digit scalar. So can the first three
digits of the dividend be divided by 100?
Yes: 400  100 = 4.
(b) Write 4 above 6 and 400 below 490.
(c) Multiply 100  4 = 400.
(d) Subtract 490 – 400 = 90.
(e) Bring down the next digit to become 900. Then,

ask the students whether 900 can be divided by
100.
(f) Yes: 900  100 = 9. Put 9 over 0 in 49,00.
(g) Multiply 100  9 = 900.
(h) Subtract 900 – 900 = 0.
Hence, 4,900m  100 = 49m
To check: 49m  100 = 4,900m.

ACTIVITY 6.5
Divide a Length with a One-Digit Scalar

Objectives:
(a) Understand division as a means of separating something into equal
parts.
(b) Divide the length with a one-digit scalar.
Material:
Pencils with equal length; Rulers
Procedure:
1. You can read the following division of length with a scalar. The
length of five pencils is 40cm. What is the length of each pencil?
2. Explain to your students that to know the length of each pencil, they
can divide the total length of pencils with the number of pencils.
3. Ask the students to write the division in symbol form. Then, check
whether they get the correct answer as below:
40cm  5 = _____cm or Divisor 5 40

4. Now, divide the following:
In division, you can start the first number under the
division sign. Can 4 be divided by 5? No. 5 40
Try the first two groups under the division sign. 8
Can 40 be divided by five? Yes: 40  5 = 8. Put 8 5 40
over 0 in 40.  40
Multiply 5  8 = 40. 0
Subtract 40 – 40 = 0.
Hence, 40cm  5 = 8cm

To check: 5  8cm = 40cm

ACTIVITY 6.6
Divide a Length with a Four-Digit Scalar

Objectives:
(a) Divide length with a four-digit scalar.
(b) Convert the unit of length.
Solve: 87,000cm  1,000 = _____m
Solution:
(a) 1,000 is a four-digit scalar. So can the
first four digits of the dividend be
divided by 1,000? Yes: 8,700  1,000
= 8.
(b) Write eight above the second 0 in 8, and
7000 and below 8,000.
(c) Multiply 1,000  8 = 8,000.
(d) Subtract 8,700 – 8,000 = 700.
(e) Bring down the next digit to become
7,000. Then, ask can 7 000 be divided by
1,000?
Yes: 7,000  1,000 = 7. Put 7 over the
next 0 in 87,000.
(f) Multiply 1,000  7 = 7,000.
(g) Subtract 7,000 – 7,000 = 0.
(h) The division of 87,000cm  1,000 = 87cm. Therefore
To convert the answer from cm to m, use 1
87cm =  87 =
the following equivalence: 100cm = 1m. 100
0.87m
Hence, 87,000cm  1,000 = 0.87m
To check: 0.87m  100 = 87cm  1,000 = 87,000cm.

ACTIVITY 6.7
Divide a Length in Metres and Centimetres with One-Digit Scalar

Objectives:
(a) Divide length in metres and centimetres with a one-digit scalar.
(b) Convert the unit of length.
Solve: 62m 64cm  6 = ____m
Solution:
To perform division on units of measurement in metres and centimetres by
a scalar, you should divide the numbers from left to the right. If there is a
remainder, convert to the same units as the right values and add to it.
Then, divide it by the scalar.
(a) Start with the first two numbers under the
division sign. Can 62 be divided by 6?
Yes: 60  6 = 10. Write 10 above 6 in
62m.
(b) Multiply 10  6 = 60.
(c) Subtract 62 – 60 = 2m.
(d) Convert m to cm since 1m = 100cm.
*1m = 100cm
Hence, 2m = 200cm. Then, add the
2m = 2  100cm
centimetres 64cm + 200cm = 264cm.
= 200cm
(e) Ask if 264 can be divided by 6?
Yes: 264  6 = 44.
(f) Multiply 6  44 = 264.
(g) Convert cm to m using the equivalent Therefore
100cm = 1m. 1
44 cm =  44
100
= 0.44 m
Hence, 2m = 200cm. Then, add the centimetres.
Therefore, 62m 64cm  6 = 10.44m.

SELF-CHECK 6.1
Solve the following questions:
1. Three balloons were tied together and released into the sky. At every
120m, one balloon will burst. At what height will the last balloon
burst?
2. The length of five pens joined end to end is 80cm. What is the length
of each pen?
3. Maniam uses a tape measure which is 2cm shorter than the actual
measurement. He measures the height of a desk using the tape as
85cm. What is the actual height of the desk?
6.6 SOLVING PROBLEMS INVOLVING LENGTH

In our daily life, we often face problems involving length and height. You have to
be familiar with the units of measurements, conversion, addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division in order to solve problems involving length. You have
to encourage your students to convert the amount of length into the same units in
order to solve problems involving more than one operation. Thus, they need to
find the answers to these questions in order to solve any problem:
(a) What is given?

(c) What operations are needed?
Example 16:
A staircase (see Figure 6.6) is made of cubes and the length of each cube is 8cm.
What is the height of this staircase?

Figure 6.6: Measuring height of a staircase

Solution:
What information is given? Length of each cube is 8cm
The base of the staircase is made of three cubes
What is asked for? The height of this staircase
Solution Height of this staircase = 8 + 8 + 8 = 24cm
Example 17:
A frog can hop 12cm at one time. What is the distance if the frog had hopped 15
times?
Solution:
The frog had hopped = 180cm


 The relationship between units of length;
 Measuring length in standard units;
 Adding and subtracting units of length;
 Multiplying and dividing units of length; and
 Solving problems involving length.
Addition Metres
Centimetres Millimetres
Division Multiplication
Length Standard units
Measure Subtraction
BBC. (2008). Skillswise measuring – Length, weight and capacity factsheets.

Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/measuring/lwc/
factsheet.shtml
Oracle Education Foundation. (2005). ThinkQuest: Length. Retrieved from

http://library.thinkquest.org/3804/length.html
Primary Resources. (2008). Maths: Measures, shape & space. Retrieved from
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/maths/mathsE1.htm


Topic  Mass
7
LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Measure mass using standard units;
2. Identify the relationship between units of mass;
3. Add and subtract units of mass;
4. Multiply and divide units of mass; and
5. Solve problems involving mass.
 INTRODUCTION
Previously, you have learnt to measure length and the units involved when we
perform addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Here in this topic, we
extend that knowledge to another type of measurement which is mass. You will
learn about the relationship between the units of mass and how to convert one unit
to another. Once you have gained the preliminary knowledge, you will be able to
perform simple operations just like the previous topic but now involving mass.
For the last part of this topic, you will see some examples on everyday problems
that we face. You should be able to sail through this topic easily!
7.1 MEASURING MASS

Do you know what mass means? Mass is defined as the quantity of matter. We
need a set of units for measuring mass. What is the standard unit in measuring
mass? The standard unit for measuring mass is gram and kilogram. The
abbreviation for these units are g and kg. When do we use gram? We use gram to
measure light or small objects, such as carrots and cabbage (see Figure 7.1).
146  TOPIC 7 MASS
Figure 7.1: Measuring grams
How about kilogram? A kilogram is actually 1,000g. Kilogram is used to measure

heavy objects as well as people (see Figure 7.2).
Figure 7.2: Measuring kilograms
The same mass can be measured by using different units. You can begin the class
by doing Activity 7.1.

TOPIC 7 MASS  147
ACTIVITY 7.1
Objective: To measure and read the mass of an object.

Consider the following activities involving mass:
(a) Provide the students with a weighing machine. There are many types
of weighing tools, so it will be good if you can show a few types to
them.
(b) Search your classroom for objects that weigh 1 gram, 1 kilogram and
others. Then measure your objects to see how accurately you can
estimate mass.
7.2 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN KILOGRAMS

AND GRAMS
A lot of things are defined with respect to very specific situations. Therefore, you
need to know the relationship between units. Students always have trouble
converting units, simply because they are not sure whether they should add or
subtract numbers or multiply or divide by that number. Let us look at how to
convert units of mass in the next section.
You can use Table 7.1 to help your students to remember the metric units for
mass. The next few exercises will focus on the conversion of units.
Table 7.1: Metric Units for Mass

Abbreviation Full Form Meaning Equivalent
g gram One thousandth of a kilogram 1,000g = 1kg
kg kilogram One thousand gram 1kg = 1,000g
(a) Convert Gram to Kilogram

Do you know how to convert gram to kilogram? Well, in order to convert
gram to kilogram, you should follow these three steps:
Step 1: Separate 1,000 from the unit in gram.
Step 2: Convert both separate numbers in gram to kilogram.
Step 3: Add the kilogram.

Alternatively, we can also use division, (divide by 1,000) to check our

answers. See Example 1 and follow the steps to teach your students.
Example 1:
Aini bought bananas that have a mass of 1,650g. What is the mass of these
bananas in kilogram?
Solution:
Separate 1,650 into 1,000 and 650
We know that, 1,000g = 1kg, so we separate 1, 650 g  1, 000 g  650 g
1,650 into 1,000 and 650 as:
Next, convert 1,000g to 1kg and 650g to kg. 650
To convert 650g to kg, divide it by 1,000. 650 g = = 0.65
1, 000
Solution  1kg  0.65 kg =1.65 kg
Alternatively, 1,650  1,000 = 1.65kg
Hence, 1,650g = 1.65kg.
(b) Convert Kilogram to Gram

You can introduce the following steps to teach the conversion of kilogram to
gram:
Step 1: Separate the kilogram into two parts: whole number and decimal.
Step 2: Convert both parts to gram.
Step 3: Add the gram.
Alternatively, you can use multiplication (multiply by 1,000) to get the

answer in gram.

Example 2:
5.6kg = ____g
Solution:
Separate 5.6kg into whole number part and decimal part = 5kg + 0.6kg
Convert both parts to gram = 5,000g + 600g
Add the gram = 5,600g
Alternatively, 5.6  1,000 = 5 600g
Hence, 5.6kg = 5,600g.
(c) Kilogram and Gram to Gram

Next, explain the three steps below for converting kilogram and gram to
gram:
Step 1: Write the unit in kilogram and gram in addition equation.
Step 2: Convert the kilogram to gram.
Step 3: Add the gram.
Example 3:
Convert the following units:
3kg 500g = _____g
Solution:
You need to give your answer in gram. Therefore, convert all measurements
given to the same unit, which is in gram.
Write the unit 3kg 500g in the form of addition equation = 3kg + 500g
Convert the kilogram to gram using: 1kg = 1,000g = 3,000g + 500g
Add the gram = 3,500g
Hence, 3kg 500g = 3,500g.

(d) Kilogram and Gram to Kilogram

This conversion is the opposite of the conversion of kilogram and gram to
gram. Let us look at Example 4 that shows you how to do it.
Example 4:
Convert the following units.
6kg 50g = _____kg
Solution:
Note that you need to give your answer in kilograms. Therefore, convert all
the measurement given in the same units – kilogram.
Convert the kilograms to gram 50

Since,50 g = = 0.05 kg
Use the equation: 1, 000
1,000g = 1kg
So, 6kg 50g = 6 kg + 0.05kg
= 6.05 kg
Hence, 6 kg 50 g = 6.05 kg.
ACTIVITY 7.2
Convert these units of mass.

(a) 5kg = _____ g (b) 6,030g = ______kg
(c) 5.5kg = _____g (d) 8kg 600g = ______g
(e) 15kg 30g = _____kg (f) 10kg = _______g
(g) 12,000g = ______kg (h) 9.8kg = ______g
(i) 7kg 650g = ______g (j) 35kg 200g = ______kg


INVOLVING UNITS OF MASS
In this section, you will be introduced to basic operations of addition and
subtraction involving units of mass. Below are some guidelines for you to teach
students regarding these operations (see Figure 7.3).
Figure 7.3: Guidelines for teaching addition or

subtraction operations with measurement units
(a) Addition Involving Units of Mass

You can teach addition involving units of mass to your students using the
above guidelines. Examples 5 and 6 illustrate the addition of similar units.
Meanwhile, Examples 7 and 8 show the addition of both units given in
kilograms and grams.
Example 5:
2.8kg + 1.5kg = _____kg
Solution:
1
2 . 8 kg
+ 1 . 5 kg Both are similar units, add the numerical values.
4 . 3 kg

Example 6:
650g + 260g = _____kg
Solution:
1
6 5 0g
To convert unit gram to kilogram, you have to
remember: 1,000g = 1kg
+ 2 6 0g 910
910 g = = 0.910kg
9 1 0g 1, 000
650g + 260g = 0.910kg.
Example 7:
5kg 650g + 3kg 700g = _____kg _____g
Solution:
When adding two or more masses in kilogram and gram, you have to add
according to their units. Hence, if mass is less than 1,000g, write it as it is
for the answer. If the mass is more or equal than 1,000g, convert gram to
kilogram (1,000g = 1kg) and add the units in kilogram.
5kg 650g First, add the gram followed by kilogram.

+ 3kg 700g 1,350g – 1,000g (1kg) = 350g
8kg 1,350g Add 1kg + 8kg = 9kg
+ 1kg = 1,000g (–)
9kg 350g
5kg 650g + 3kg 700g = 9kg 350g.
Example 8:
8kg 540g + 2kg 180g = ______kg
Solution:
When adding two or more masses measured in kilogram and gram, and the
answer is in kilogram, you have to add according to their units. Then,
change the units in gram to kilogram and add all the kilograms. To convert
gram to kilogram use the equation 1,000g = 1kg.

8kg 540g First add the gram followed by kilogram.

+ 2kg 180g 720
10kg 720g Convert 720g to kg = = 0.72
1, 000
+ 0.72kg Add 0.72 to 10kg.
10.72kg
8kg 540g + 2kg 180kg = 10.72kg.
SELF-CHECK 7.1
Find the answer:

(a) 3.9kg + 2.5kg = _______kg
(b) 556g + 620g = ______kg
(c) 4kg 450g + 2kg 600g = _____kg ______g
(d) 9kg 640g + 1kg 190kg = ______kg
(b) Subtraction Involving Units of Mass

In this section, your students will learn how to subtract units of mass.
Subtraction of units of mass is similar to addition. In addition operations,
you can ignore the sizes of the units, but for subtraction, you have to
subtract the smaller value from the bigger value.
Look at the following examples that we can use in the classroom.
Example 9:
A bag contains several books. The bag and the books weigh 1,350g. The
books weigh 680g. What is the mass of the bag?
Solution:
To find the mass of the bag, you have to find the difference in mass between
the total mass and books. Subtract the smaller value from the bigger value.
2 1
First, arrange the units – the smaller
1 3 5 0g value below the bigger value.
- 6 8 0g Then, subtract as usual.
6 7 0g Give the answer in unit g.
1,350g – 680g = 670g

Example 10:
75,800g – 28,680g = 47.12kg.
Solution:
When the units are given in the same measurement, do the subtraction
normally. Lastly, you need to convert the unit gram to kilogram.
6
1
4 7 1 Arrange the units, the bigger value above the
7 5 8 0 0g smaller value.
- 2 8 6 8 0g Then, subtract.
4 7 1 2 0g Give the answer in unit kg
47,120g  1,000 = 47.12kg.
Example 11:
9.75kg – 8.82kg = ____g
Solution:
The problem above involves a subtraction of similar units (kg) and the
answer should be converted to g.
8 1
Arrange the units, the bigger value above the
9 . 7 5 kg
smaller value.
- 8 . 8 2 kg Then, subtract.
0 . 9 3 kg Give the answer in unit g
0.93kg  1,000 = 930g.
9.75kg – 8.82kg = 930g.
Example 12:
8kg 560g – 6kg 490g = ____kg
Solution:
Both measurements are in kg and g. Therefore, you have to subtract the
smaller numbers from the bigger numbers according to their units. Then, all
the units in g have to be converted to kg and total the numbers in kg.

4 1 Arrange the units, the bigger value above the

8 kg 5 6 0g smaller value. You can compare this through
- 6 kg 4 9 0g the numerical value in the units for kg. (8kg is
2 kg 7 0g bigger than 6kg)
Then, subtract according to the units.
2 kg + 0. 07 kg Convert the unit g to kg: 70g  1,000 = 0.07kg.
Add all the units in kg: 2kg + 0.07kg = 2.07kg.
8kg 560g – 6kg 490g = 2.07kg.
ACTIVITY 7.3
Convert the units of measurement given.

(a) 7kg = _____g (b) 4,000g = _____kg
(c) 2kg 800g = _____g (d) 8,300g = _____kg ____g
(e) 5kg 40g = ______g (f) 3,050g = _____kg ____g

INVOLVING UNITS OF MASS
How do you wish to start this lesson? Well, you can start off by asking your
students simple questions like, “What is multiplication?” and “What is division?”
I am sure they can answer these questions, as they have learnt these operations
before. Let us recall the definition of multiplication and division.
Multiplication is a repeating of Division is separating something

addition. into equal parts.
Then, you can tell your students that multiplication and division can also be done
for units of mass.

To teach multiplication of mass by a number, follow the three steps:

Step 1: Multiply the numerical values.
Step 2: Give your answer in the same unit given.
Step 3: Do conversion of units if the question requires you to do so.
Let us apply these steps in Example 13.
Example 13:
A bunch of langsat weighs 5kg 45g. What is the mass of six bunches of the
langsat?
Solution:
To find the mass of six bunches of langsat, you have to multiply the mass of a
bunch of langsat by six. In multiplication, you have to multiply the units from
right to left, that is, multiply the gram first followed by the kilogram.
5kg 4 5g Multiply the gram 45  6 = 270g.

 6 Then, multiply the kg 5  6 = 30kg.
30 kg 2 7 0 g
After introducing the multiplication above, you can also show the following
calculation. If the result of multiplication of unit gram with a number is bigger
than 1,000, you need to do regrouping. See Example 14.
Example 14:
5kg 540g  6 = ____kg ___g
Solution:
5 kg 5 4 0g Multiply the gram 540  6 = 3,240g (more than
× 6 1,000). You need to do regrouping.
Multiply the kilogram 5  6 = 30kg
30 kg 3 2 4 0 g Regroup 3 240g = 3,000g + 240g
+ 3kg 2 4 0g = 3kg + 240g
Add the kilogram.
33kg 2 4 0g
5kg 540g  6 = 33kg 240g.

Example 15:
8  5.6kg = ____g
Solution:
For this problem, the multiplication is between units in kg and a number. The
result will be in unit kg and you have to multiply by 1,000 (1,000g = 1kg) to
convert the kg to g.
5.6kg The multiplication of 8  5.6kg

 8 = 44.8kg.
44.8kg convert the kilogram to gram.
44kg 0.8kg Regroup the numbers and the
decimals.
 1,000
Convert kg to gram by
44 000g + 800g = 44,800g
multiplying the kg by 1,000.
Add the numbers.
So, 8  5.6kg = 44,800g.
Example 16:
12  980g = ____kg
Solution:
For this problem, the multiplication is between units in g and a number. The result
will be in unit g and you have to divide by 1 000 (1,000g = 1kg) to convert the g
to kg.
980g Multiply the numbers

 12
11 760g You could divide 11,760g directly by
11 000g 760g 1,000 to get the answer as 11.76kg or,
Regroup 11,760g = 11,000g + 760g
11000 kg 760 kg
Convert gram to kilogram by dividing
1000 1000 the g by 1,000.
11kg 0.76kg = 11.76kg (Add the numbers)
Therefore, 12  980g = 11.76kg.

The following section will discuss how to teach the students on the division of
units of mass by a number. As teachers, you can demonstrate the following three
steps for dividing numbers with numerical units by a number:
Step 1: Divide the numerical values.
Step 3: Do conversion of units if the question asked for it.
Example 17 and Example 18 illustrate the division of units of mass by one-digit,

two-digit, three-digit and four-digit scalars respectively. Let us look at the
following example.
Example 17:
8,800g  8 = ____g
Solution:
Divide the numbers
8,800g  8 = 1,100g.
Example 18:
64kg 800g  12 = ____kg
Solution:
You can tell your students that when dividing the units in kg and g by a number,
they have to divide from left to right. That means divide the kg first followed by
the g.
Divide the kg
1kg = 1,000g
4kg = 4  1,000g
= 4,000g
Therefore, the answer is 5kg 400g = 5.4kg

For Example 19, you can elaborate this to your students:

(a) To divide the units in kg and give your answers in grams, you must first
divide the numerical values.
(b) Then, convert the outcome in kg to g.
Example 19:
930kg  10 = ____g
Solution:
Divide the kg
After the division, the following steps are:
Convert kg to g = 93kg  1,000
= 93,000g
930kg  10 = 93,000g
For Example 20, you can ask the students to solve the problems by themselves.
You can guide them and give the answer as below at the end of the class.
Example 20:
5 436kg  1 000 = ____ g
Solution:
Divide the kg
Regroup 5.436kg = 5kg + 0.436kg
Convert kg to g = 5  1,000g + 0.436  1,000g
= 5,000g + 436g
= 5,436g
5,436kg  1,000 = 5.436g.

SELF-CHECK 7.2
Work out the problems below:
(a) 3.91kg  5 = _______g

(b) 566g + 6 = ______kg
(c) 14kg 450g  5 = _____kg ______g
(d) 29kg 640g  2 = ______kg
7.5 SOLVING PROBLEMS INVOLVING MASS

This section illustrates everyday life problems involving mass. You should
emphasise the usage of the following steps to your students to solve these
problems.
Read the question and search for:

(a) What information is given?
(c) What operation is needed?
(d) Solve.
(e) Check your answer.
You can use Example 21 to show how to solve problem in your class.
Example 21:
Fatimah has five sacks of grain. Each sack weighs 65kg. What is the total mass of
the grains?
Solution:
When you read this question, you find:
What information is given? Fatimah has five sacks of grain and each sack
weighs 65kg.

What is asked for? Total mass of the grains.

Operation needed Multiplication.
Solve 5  65kg = ______kg
2
6 5
× 5
3 2 5
Check 325  5 = 65
The total mass of the grains = 325kg.
ACTIVITY 7.4
1. Zainal has shipped a parcel to his friend in

Australia. The parcel weighs 1kg 800g. His
friend wants to know the mass in kilograms.
What is the mass in kilograms?
2. A grocery store has a sale on bananas. If you buy six bananas, you
get the sale price. If the grocer has 489 bananas, how many bunches
of six can he sell at this sale price? In this case, how many can be
sold at the regular price?
Before we end this topic, let us do Activity 7.5 and Activity 7.6.

ACTIVITY 7.5
Compare Mass
Objective: By the end of this activity, your students should be able to learn
the concept of mass, the meaning of measurement and the units of mass.
Materials:
Weighing machine.
Procedures:
Show some objects like a pen, a box, cupboards etc. which can be found in
the classroom. Write the name of the item in the first box. Then, guess
whether the object weighs less than 100g, more than 100g or the same as
100g and write in the second column. Weigh the items and write the actual
weight in the third column.
Compare which is the heaviest. How can you find out?
For each actual mass in gram, convert to kilogram.
Work in groups. Use the table below and classify which objects that are
heavier or lighter than two kilograms.
2kg
Lighter Heavier

ACTIVITY 7.6
Weigh an Object
Objective: By the end of this activity, your

students should be able to read the weighing
machine.
Material:
Weighing machine
Procedures:
(a) Let students talk about their school bags
and ask them to estimate the weight of
their school bags.
(b) Tell them that heavy object is measured in kg. Then, let them try to weigh
their bag using the weighing machine. Ask them to see the relation
between 1kg and 1,000g.
(c) Now, compare the mass of the bag obtained by estimation and the actual
weight. What is the difference?

 Measuring mass using standard units;
 The relationship between kilograms and grams;
 Adding and subtracting units of mass;
 Multiplying and dividing units of mass; and
 Solving problems involving mass.

Division Standard units
Grams Subtraction
Mass Kilograms
Measure Weight

factsheet.shtml
Oracle Education Foundation. (2005). ThinkQuest: Length. Retrieved from

http://library.thinkquest.org/3804/length.html


Topic  Volume of
8 Liquid
LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Measure and compare volume of liquids using standard units;
2. Identify the relationship between units of volume of liquid;
3. Add and subtract units of volume of liquid;
4. Multiply and divide units of volume of liquid; and
5. Solve problems involving volume of liquid.
 INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the topic on volume. Here, we specifically discuss the volume of
liquids. The most common liquid we see in the house is water from the tap or
drinking water that we keep. From the water that we drink to the water that we
use, it is something that we need to survive in this world. Understanding of the
concept of volume is very important as we use liquids every day. We need to
know how to measure the volume of liquids in various units and be able to
perform some simple operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division. At the same time, the students will also need to know how to do
conversion of one unit to another.
This topic discusses how to measure the volume of liquids in standard units and to
understand the relationship between units of volume of liquids and solving
problems by using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

166  TOPIC 8 VOLUME OF LIQUID
8.1 MEASURING VOLUME OF LIQUID

There are many occasions that we need to measure the amount of liquid that we
use. For example, we may need to mix the exact amount of water for cooking or
baking. Now, how do we actually measure liquids? We will need tools, just like
when we measure length and mass in the previous topics.
Normally, we use a measuring cup, a beaker or a measuring cylinder to measure a

small amount of liquid. You can bring these to class to show them to students.
Figure 8.1 shows beakers, measuring cylinders, cones and a cup. Ask students to
notice the readings on the scales and also the units. A simple demonstration could
be done in the class on how to read the measurement.
Figure 8.1: Beakers, measuring cup, cylinders and cones
The metric system (standard units) to measure volume of liquid is litre (l) and
millilitres (ml). When you show students the measuring cups or beakers, tell them
to read the measuring units. They will most likely see the symbol l and ml on
them. Although they may see other measuring units, just ignore them as these will
not be discussed here.
Next, pour some water into the measuring cups and ask them to read the level of
the water. Always read the scale at eye level for accuracy.

TOPIC 8 VOLUME OF LIQUID  167
Figure 8.2: Reading at eye level
Here is an example:
Read the volume of the water in the measuring cup in Figure 8.3.
Figure 8.3: Reading the volume of the water in the measuring cup
Now, let the students do some activities to gain more confidence in reading
measurements.

ACTIVITY 8.1
Measure and Record Volume of Liquid
Objective: By the end of the lesson, your students

should be able to measure volume in litres and
millilitres.
Materials:
Beakers; Measuring cups
Now, prepare some water in four different containers. Ask students to

work together in groups and tell them to measure the water from these
containers as shown in the table below. Then make sure they record the
volume.
Containers Volume of Water

Glass cup
Jug
Bottle
Kettle
8.2 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN UNITS OF

VOLUME OF LIQUID
As mentioned previously, the metric system for measuring volume is litre and
millilitre. We need to know how to switch from one unit to another. Normally,
liquid that is contained in small containers is measured using millilitres, whereas
liquid that is contained in larger containers such as fish tanks or water reserve
tanks in the house is measured using litres. In other words, millilitre is used for
small quantities of liquid and litre for large quantities.
Before we begin some conversion exercises, tell the students to keep in mind that
one litre is equivalent to 1,000ml. You may write
1l = 1,000ml
on the board for them to see. Keep reminding them to use it when doing conversion
of units. Let us see how to convert these units.
Here are the procedures for a teacher to teach students the conversion units of
volumes:
If a smaller unit is to be converted to a larger unit number,

divide the number with the equivalent number ()
If a larger unit is to be converted to a smaller unit number,

multiply the number with the equivalent number ()
(a) Litre to Millilitre

Example 1:
Convert 13.5l to ml.
13.5l = ____ml A litre (l) is bigger than a millilitre

1l = 1,000ml (ml), so to convert a bigger unit to a
13.5l = 13.5  1,000ml smaller unit, we use multiplication.
= 13,500ml Since 1l = 1,000ml, so we multiply by
1,000.
You could also show it this way:

13.5l = 13l + 0.5l
= 13,000ml + 500ml
= 13,500ml
Hence, 13.5l = 13 500ml
(b) Millilitre to Litre

Example 2:
Convert 700ml to l.
700ml = ____l A litre (l) is bigger than a millilitre

1l = 1,000ml (ml), so to convert a smaller unit to a
700ml = 700  1,000l bigger unit, we use division. Since
= 0.7 l 1l = 1,000ml, we divide by 1,000.
Hence, 700ml = 0.7l

(c) Litre and Millilitre to Litre

When you are given a combination of units (litre and millilitre) to be
converted to litre, we follow these steps below:
Step 1: Convert the millilitre to litre by using division. (Divide the number
by 1,000).
Step 2: Add the numbers which are of the same measurement unit (litres).
Step 3: Give the unit to the number.
Example 3:
4l 200ml = _____ l ?
4l 200ml = _____ l Convert from litre (l) to millilitre (ml), divide

by 1,000.
200ml = 200  1,000l Then add the numbers which have the same unit
of measurement.
= 0.2l
4l + 0.2l = 4.2l Assign the unit (litres) to the number.
Hence, 4l 200ml = 4.2l
(d) Litre and Millilitre to Millilitre

When you are given a combination of units (litre and millilitre) to be
converted to litre, we follow these steps below:
Step 1: Convert the millilitre to litre by using division. (Divide the number
by 1,000).
Step 2: Add the numbers which are of the same unit of measurement unit
(litres).

Example 4:
6l 250ml = _____ ml ?
6l 250ml = _____ ml Convert from millilitre (ml) to litre (l),

multiply by 1,000.
6l = 6  1 000 = 6,000ml Then add the numbers which have the

same unit of measurement.
6 000ml + 250ml = 6,250ml Assign the unit (millilitre) to the number.
Hence, 6l 250ml = 6,250ml
SELF-CHECK 8.1

(a) 350ml = _____ l
(b) 5.5l = _______ml
(c) 5 l67ml = _______l
(d) 9l 433ml = _______ml

INVOLVING UNITS OF VOLUME OF LIQUID
This section on the use of addition and subtraction operations to solve problems
involving volume of liquid is similar to that related to other measurement units.
Of course, there are rules to follow and the following guidelines will help you
teach your students.

If the units are the same,

add or subtract normally
If the units are different, then:

convert one of the units so that both are of the same units, after which you can
apply addition and subtraction.
Finally, assign the unit to the number.
One important note that we have to remember is that if the units cannot be
converted to the same unit, you cannot do addition and subtraction.
Example 5:
The volume of a jug of orange juice is 589ml. If Kamal pours another 356ml of
juice into the jug, how much juice is there now?
Solution:
Ask the students whether the units of The answer is yes.

both volumes are similar.
1 1
5 8 9 ml
+ 3 5 6 ml
9 4 5 ml
Hence, the total volume of orange juice is 945ml.

Example 6:
Add the following measurements and give your answer in litres.
5.38l + 2.35l = ____l
Solution:

1
5 3 8l
+ 2 3 5l
7 7 3l
Hence, 5.38l + 2.35l = 7.73l

Example 7:
7.28l + 3.59l = ____ml
Solution:

1
7 2 8l
+ 3 5 9l
1 0 8 7l
To give answer in ml: Multiply by 1,000 since 1l = 1,000ml.

10.87l  1,000 = 1 087ml
Or you can show it this way:
10.87l = 10l + 0.87l
= 10,000ml + 870ml
= 10,870ml.
Hence, 7.28l + 3.59l = 10 870ml

Example 8:
1,328ml + 5,139ml = ____l
Solution:

1
1 3 2 8 ml
 5 1 3 9m l
6 4 6 7 ml
To give answer in l: Divide by 1,000 since 1l = 1,000ml.

6 467ml  1,000 = 6.467l
Or you can show it this way:
6 467ml = 6,000ml + 467ml
= 6l + 0.467l
= 6.467l.
Hence, 1,328ml + 5,139ml = 6.467l.
Next, you can explain to your students that for addition or subtraction of units of
volumes in litres and millilitres, you should do the following:
Step 1: Add the like units from right to left.

Step 2: See if you can express the smaller unit in terms of the larger units.
Step 3: Add the numbers of the larger unit.
Step 4: Convert the number to specific unit measurement.

Example 9:
Find the answer to the following addition:
8l 650ml + 5l 548ml = _____l

Solution:
8l 6 5 0ml The units are the same, add the numbers.
+ 5l 5 4 8ml Assign the unit to number.
1 3l 1 1 9 8 ml
1 3l Express the smaller unit in terms of the larger

+ 1l 1 9 8ml units.
Since 1,198ml is larger than 1,000 (1l), regroup:
1 4l 1 9 8ml 1,198ml = 1,000ml + 198ml
= 1l + 0.198l
Add 1 to 13l, 13l + 1l = 14l.
Next, to convert 14l 198ml to litres, you have to use conversion units from ml to l
(1,000 ml = 1l). Express the measurement numbers as:
14l 198ml = 14l + 198ml

= 14l + 0.198l
= 14.198l
Hence, 8l 650ml + 5l 548ml = 14.198l
In the section below, you can introduce examples of subtraction involving

volumes of liquid. To find the difference between two units of volume, use
subtraction. The following four steps depict how to subtract the volumes of two
objects.
If the two numbers of measurement have like units, then:

Step 1: Arrange the larger number above the smaller number.
Step 2: Subtract the numbers from right to left.
Step 3: Convert the numbers to a specific unit measurement if needed.
Step 4: Give the unit to the number.

Example 10:
The volume of a bottle of grape juice is 1,600ml. Sara drinks 350ml of it. How
much is left?
Solution:
In finding the difference, you have to use subtraction.
1 6 0 0 ml Arrange the number (larger above,

 3 5 0 ml smaller below).
1 2 5 0 ml Give the unit to the answer.
So, there are 1,250ml juice left in the bottle.
Example 11:
Subtract the volumes below:
9,065ml – 6,645ml = ____l
9 0 6 5 ml Arrange the number (larger above,

 6 6 4 5 ml smaller below).
2 4 2 0 ml Give the unit to answer.
2,420ml = 2,000ml + 420ml You need to give the answer in l so,
= 2l + 0.42l convert 2,420ml to l. Use conversion
= 2.42l unit:
1,000ml = 1 l
or 2,420ml  1,000 = 2.42l

Example 12:
Solve the following equation:
16l 26ml – 6l 45ml = ____ml
Solution:
15 1026 Arrange the number 16l 26ml above 6l
16 l 26 m l 45ml.
 6l 45 m l Subtract the like numbers. 26ml is smaller
than 45ml, so borrow 1l (1,000ml) from 16l
9l 981 ml
to get 1,000l + 26ml = 1,026ml.
16l deduct 1l will become 15l.
Give the unit to the numbers 9l 981ml.
9l 981ml = 9l + 981ml The answer needed is in ml so convert 9l
= 9,000ml + 981ml 981ml to unit ml. Use conversion unit:
= 9,981ml 1,000ml = 1l.
Example 13:
Subtract the volumes below:
9.65l – 6.96l = ____ml
8 5 Arrange the number (larger above, smaller

9  6 5l below).
 6  9 6l Subtract the numbers.
2  6 9l Give the unit to answer.
2.69l = 2l + 0.69l You need to give the answer in ml so,
= 2,000ml + 690ml convert 2.69l to ml. Use conversion unit:
= 2,690ml 1,000ml = 1l
or 2.69l  1,000 = 2,690ml

SELF-CHECK 8.2

(a) 350ml + 567ml = _____ l
(b) 15.5l + 48.9l = _______ml
(c) 5,l67ml – 2,345ml = ____ l ____ml
(d) 3l 680ml – 1l 760ml =_____l ____ ml
(e) 9l 432ml + 3l 307ml = ____ l
(f) 5l 324ml – 2l 666ml = _____ ml

INVOLVING UNITS OF VOLUME OF LIQUID
Once the students have understood how to add and subtract, you may start this
lesson. It will be best to revise them on this topic of multiplication and division to
them. Let us recall the definition of multiplication and division.
Multiplication is a repeating of Division is separating something

addition. into equal parts.
To teach multiplication of volume by a scalar number, follow the three steps:

Step 1: Multiply the numerical values.
Step 3: Do conversion of units if the question requires you to do so.
Let us apply these steps in Example 14.

Example 14:
What is the total volume of six bottles of apple juice if each bottle is 2.5l?
Solution:
To find the volume of six bottles of apple juice, you have to multiply the volume
given by six. Multiply as usual and maintain the same unit given.
3
2  5l
× 6
1 5  0l
So, 6  2.5l = 15.0l
Example 15:
6.7l  9 = ______ml
Solution:
Multiply the volume given by 9 and your answer will be in litres.
6
6  7l
× 9
6 0  3l
To convert litres to millilitres, we use the conversion 1l = 1,000ml. There are two
ways of showing this.
60.3l = 60l + 0.3l

= 60,000ml + 300ml
= 60,300ml
or you can multiply 60.3l by 1,000 to get
60.3l  1,000 = 60,300ml
So, 6.7l  9 = 60,300ml

Example 16:
4l 650ml  9 = _____l _____ ml
Solution:
4l 6 5 0ml Multiply from the right hand side first, which is
× 9 the smaller units.
3 6l 5 8 5 0 ml
3 6l Since 5,850ml is larger than 1,000 (1l), regroup:

+ 5l 8 5 0ml 5,850ml = 5,000ml + 850ml
= 5l + 850ml
4 1l 8 5 0 ml
So, 4l 650ml  9 = 41l 850ml
Example 17:
675ml  100 = ______l
Solution:
Multiply the volume given by 100 and your answer will be in millilitres.
To convert millilitres to litres, we use the conversion 1l = 1,000ml. There are two
ways of showing this.
67,500ml = 67,000ml + 500ml

= 67l + 0.5l
= 67.5l
or you can divide 67,500ml by 1,000 to get
67,500ml  1,000 = 67.5l

So, 675ml  100 = 67.5l

The following section discusses on how to teach the students on the division of
units of volume by a number. As teachers, you can demonstrate the following
three steps for dividing numbers with numerical units by a number:
Step 1: Divide the numerical values.

Step 3: Do conversion of units if the question asked for it.
The following examples will illustrate the division of units of volume by one-
digit, two-digit, three-digit and four-digit scalars respectively.
Example 18:
8,800ml  5 = ____ml
Solution:
Divide the numbers
So, 8,800ml  5 = 1,760ml.

Example 19:
64l 800ml  12 = ____l
Solution:
You can tell your students that when dividing the units in l and ml by a number,
they have to divide from left to right. That means divide the l first followed by the
ml.
Divide the l
1l = 1,000ml
4l = 4  1,000ml
= 4,000ml
To convert the answer to litres, divide 400ml by 1,000 = 0.4l

Then add to the litres: 5l + 0.4l = 5.4l.
Therefore the answer is 5l 400ml = 5.4l
Example 20:
9,300l  100 = ____ml
Solution:
Divide the l.
Convert l to ml = 93l  1 000
= 93,000ml
9,300l  100 = 93,000ml

Example 21:
5,240 l  1,000 = ____ ml
Solution:
Divide the l.
Regroup 5.24l = 5l + 0.24l
Convert l to ml = 5  1,000ml + 0.24  1,000ml
= 5,000ml + 240ml = 5,240ml
Before you try out some activities with the students, do work out some questions
yourself to enhance your skills.
SELF-CHECK 8.3

(a) 1,350ml  5 = _____ ml
(b) 15.5l  10 = _______ml
(c) 49l 400ml  12 = ____ l ____ml
(d) 3l 680ml  3 =_____l
(e) 9.43ml  7 = ____ ml
(f) 5.45ml  100 =____l

8.5 SOLVING PROBLEMS INVOLVING UNITS

OF VOLUME OF LIQUID
This section shows the application of volume in life problems. You should
emphasise the usage of the following steps to your students when they are
attempting to solve these problems. Read the question and search for:
(a) What information is given?

(c) What operation is needed?
(d) Solve.
(e) Check your answer.
You can use Example 22 to show how to solve problems in your class.
Example 22:
There is 7.99l of water in a bottle. If three bottles of water are poured into a pail,
how much water, in litres, is in the pail?
Solution:
What information is given? Water in the bottle: 7.99l
Three bottles used.
What is asked for? Volume of water in l.
Operation needed Multiplication
Solve 3  7.99l = ______l
2 2
7  9 9
× 3
2 3  9 7
Check 23.97l  3 = 7.99l.
The total amount of water = 23.97l.

ACTIVITY 8.2
1. Prepare five bottles of liquid for the students to see. Tell them that
each bottle has 544ml of liquid. Ask them to find the total volume.
2. A big water tank contains 1,500l of water. If Kara transfers the water
equally to 12 pails, how much water is there in each pail?
3. There was 56.79l of water in the aquarium. If Samy takes out 7.33l
of water from there, how much water is left in millilitres?
4. Harry pours 4,500ml of milk into 8 glasses. How much milk is there
in each glass?
ACTIVITY 8.3

ACTIVITY 8.3
1. Convert these units.

(a) 6 578ml = ____l
(b) 7.85l = ____ml
2. Solve the following:

(a) 7.8l + 4.7l = ____ml
(b) 16 l 566ml + 4 l 233ml = ____l
(c) 103ml + 989ml = _____ l
(d) 15l 689ml – 4 l 700 ml = ___ml
(e) 8.99ml – 4.20ml = ____ l
(f) 693ml  6 = _____l
(g) 7.8l  5 = _____ ml
(h) 8 600ml  4 = ____ l
(i) 76.2l  10 = _____ ml
3. Siti’s mother has three bottles of sauce. Two of the bottles contain
50ml of sauce each and the other bottle contains 65ml of sauce. Find
the total volume of sauce in the three bottles.
4. Mira fills up a pail with four bottles of water. If each bottle contains
2l 650ml of water, how many litres of water are in that pail?


 Measuring and comparing the volume of liquid in standard units;
 The relationship between units of volume of liquid;
 Adding and subtracting units of volume of liquid;
 Multiplying and dividing units of volume of liquid; and
 Solving problems involving volumes of liquid.
Division Standard units
litres (l) Subtraction
Measure Volume
millilitres (ml)

factsheet.shtml
Ministry of Education Malaysia (2004). Integrated curriculum for primary schools


Topic  Shape and
9 Space
LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Identify two-dimensional shapes with its perimeter and area;
2. Find perimeter and area of two-dimensional shapes;
3. Point out three dimensional shapes;
4. Identify volume of cubes and cuboids; and
5. Solve problems relating to volume of cubes and cuboids.
 INTRODUCTION
There are many basic types of shapes around us that we can see – circles,
triangles, squares and polygons. This topic is designed for teachers to teach a
lesson on objects with two and three-dimensional spaces. First, you will learn how
to identify and measure two-dimensional objects. Next, you will learn about
perimeter and area and to calculate them. Lastly, you will learn how to identify
three-dimensional spaces such as cubes and cuboids. Computation of volumes of
cubes and cuboids are also covered in this section.
9.1 TWO-DIMENSIONAL SPACE

In mathematics, the position of any object is described by the dimensions within
the conceptual space. There are two and three dimensional spaces to describe an
object. The three dimensional space portrays an actual shape of an object such as
photography, engine block, statue and so on. On the other hand, a two-
dimensional (2D) shape of an object is illustrated as two-dimensional figure,
usually on the Euclidean or Cartesian plane. Even though all material objects are
TOPIC 9 SHAPE AND SPACE  189
three dimensional, a 2D geometric model is often adequate for certain flat objects,
such as a route map, a house plan and so on.
9.1.1 Identifying Two-Dimensional (2D) Shapes

Firstly, you have to introduce 2D shapes to students before they can draw the
shapes using grids. The following are the properties of 2D shapes. Let us refer to
Figure 9.1.
A square shaped object has:

(a) A flat shape;
(b) Four straight sides;
(c) Four corners; and
Figure 9.1: A square
(d) All sides are of the same length.
Ask your students to give examples of squares that can be found in the classroom.
Next is a rectangle. What are the characteristics of a rectangle (see Figure 9.2)?
A rectangle has:
(a) A flat shape;
(b) Four straight sides;
(c) Four corners; and
Figure 9.2: A rectangle
(e) A pair of short sides and a pair of long sides.
Again, ask the students to give examples of rectangles that can be found in the
classroom.
Can you describe a triangle? A triangle has three straight sides. These three sides
can be equal or different in length (see Figure 9.3).
Figure 9.3: Triangles

190  TOPIC 9 SHAPE AND SPACE
In teaching students to learn 2D shapes, teachers are recommended to use the Van
Hiele Model. This model was developed by two Dutch educators, Dina and Pierre
van Hiele, in the 1950s. The Van Hiele model asserts that the learner moves
sequentially through five levels of understanding. What are these five levels? Let
us look at them in Table 9.1.
Table 9.1: Van Hiele’s Five Levels of Understanding

Level Description
1. Visualisation At this level, you should introduce 2D shapes (square, rectangle,
triangle) to students to visualise.
Square Rectangle Triangle
Students should be asked to recognise figures as total entities but

may not be able to recognise properties of these figures (e.g. right
angles in a square).
2. Analysis You should guide the students in classifying the 2D shapes. Ask
them to think about what makes a shape identifiable as a square,
rectangle, or triangle. Then, ask them to define the characteristics
of each class.
3. Informal You should ask the students to establish inter-relationships of
Deduction properties within figures (square, flat shape, four straight sides,
four corners and a pair of short sides and a pair of long sides) and
among figures (a square is a rectangle because it has all the
properties of a rectangle).
4. Deduction You should tell the students to explore relationships among
properties of geometric 2D shapes, produce conjectures and start
to decide if the conjectures are true.
5. Rigour Ask the students to compare and contrast differences in 2D
geometrical shapes that produce the familiar Euclidean plane
geometry.
ACTIVITY 9.1
1. State TWO examples of 2D shapes.

2. State the properties of squares, rectangles and circles.

Let us do a teaching and learning activity as in Activity 9.2. This activity will
enable the students to learn and compare the sizes of squares and rectangles.
ACTIVITY 9.2
Drawing 2D Shapes
Materials:
Nailed board
Rubber band
Procedures:
Students are given a board that has been nailed. The nails make up many
small cubes (see the diagram below).
Ask the students to make the shapes below by stretching a rubber band
over the nails on the board:
(a) Triangle
(b) Rectangle
(c) Square
Explain to the students the objects that they have made are in 2D. When
we draw something on a flat piece of paper, we are drawing on a plane
shape. The shape is called 2D shape. Tell the students that the paper itself
is not a plane, ask them for the reason. If they cannot give you the answer,
then you should explain that the paper itself is not a plane because it has
thickness.

9.1.2 Measuring and Identifying Dimensions of 2D

Shapes
In this lesson, you will teach the students how to measure and draw 2D shapes.
Let us do Activity 9.3 to show how to measure and draw 2D shapes.
ACTIVITY 9.3
Measuring and Drawing 2D Shapes

Materials:
Drawing paper
Set squares
Rulers
Procedures:
Give the students a piece of A4 paper and ask them to do the following
activities:
Questions Activities
What shape is it? Look at the paper. Identify how many sides there are.
Are the paired sides of the paper equal? How many
corners does it have?
Fold it How many sides are there? Are the paired sides equal
or are all the sides equal? How many corners are
there?
Can you make it into Fold the paper to get four equal sides and four corners.
a square?
What shape do you Let them make a triangle.
have? It is a triangle.
Next, teach the students how to identify the dimensions of a square and a
rectangle. Draw a square and a rectangle side-by-side to show the difference
between them. Label your shapes and explain in detail about the characteristics of
the shapes. See Figure 9.4.

Figure 9.4: Areas of squares and rectangles
For a square: It has four equal lengths. For a rectangle: The opposite sides are
equal.
Length: AB = CD Length: EF = GH
Breadth: AC = BD Breadth: EG = FH
9.2 PERIMETER AND AREA

In this particular topic, we will discuss finding perimeters and areas of shapes that
you have just seen before this. Perimeter is the total length around a 2D shape and
area is the total number of unit squares contained in a shape. Let us start by trying
to understand the meaning of perimeter.
9.2.1 Understanding the Meaning of Perimeter

Do you know what perimeter is?
Do you know that perimeter plays a great role in our daily lives? It is used in
calculating the border of an object. For example, in order to know the length of
fence that will be installed around your house, you have to calculate the perimeter
of the border. The perimeter is calculated by adding all the lengths of a shape. Let
us try to calculate the perimeter in Example 1.

Example 1:
Find the perimeter of the rectangle below.
Figure 9.5: Rectangle
Solution:
Method 1: Using the formula: add all the lengths of each side.
The perimeter = 12cm + 5cm + 12cm + 5cm = 34cm.
Method 2: Measuring a rectangle as a shape with equal lengths of opposite sides.
Since a rectangle is a 2D shape and has equal lengths at the opposite sides, you
can add 5 cm to 12 cm then multiply the total by 2.
The perimeter = (12cm + 5cm)  2 = 17cm  2 = 34cm.
or
You can multiply (5cm by 2) and (multiply 12cm by 2) then add the totals.
The perimeter = (12cm  2 + 5cm  2) = 24cm + 10cm = 34cm.
You can decide which method is easier for you as these methods work with
rectangles of any shape.
Let us go through the following example in class.
Example 2:
Find the perimeter of the triangle below:
Figure 9.6: Right-angled triangle

Solution:
Measure all the sides of the triangle with a ruler and add the length of the three
sides.
Perimeter of the triangle = 3cm + 4cm + 5cm = 12cm.
Example 3:
Imagine you have a paddy field as shown in Figure 9.7. You want to build a fence
on this land. What is the length of the fence that you are going to build around this
land?
Figure 9.7: Rectangular paddy field
Solution:
If you only know the length of two different sides of a rectangle, you can still
calculate the perimeter. Simply add the two sides together then multiply by two.
Hence, the perimeter of the paddy field = (95m + 62m)  2 = 157m  2 = 314m.
Below are a few activities for you to try out with your students.
ACTIVITY 9.4
You want to make a wooden frame for a portrait. The perimeter of the
portrait is 135cm. Calculate the length of the wooden frame needed.

ACTIVITY 9.5
To Know the 2D shape

Procedure:
Give a stretcher to your students. Explain to them what a stretcher is.
A stretcher is made of wooden bars, usually pine, that

constitute a frame over which the canvas of a painting is
stretched.
Ask these questions to your students:

(a) What is the shape of the surface of stretchers?
(b) How many triangles are there?
(c) What is the meaning of a rectangle?
ACTIVITY 9.6
To find the perimeter of a TV monitor

Procedure:
Ask the students to work in pairs and do this:
(a) Look at the TV monitor.

(b) Identify which part is the TV monitor.
(c) Identify what measuring instrument can
be used to measure the sides of the TV
monitor.
(d) Measure each side.
(e) Find the perimeter of the TV monitor.

9.2.2 Understanding the Meaning of Area

In this section, we emphasise on finding the area of squares and rectangles only.
To make the students understand the concept of area, ask them to compare the
sizes of shapes. Begin by asking them which shapes seems larger and smaller.
Tell them that we use area to measure the sizes of these shapes in the
measurement units that we have learnt before, such as centimetres and metres.
Let us begin with a simple exercise which you can work with your students.
Get a board nailed with tiny small cubes as shown in Figure 9.8. If it is not
available, you can always show this on the whiteboard in class.
(a) Connect four adjacent nails by stretching a rubber band over it. This will
make a unit square or one unit square.
(b) Proceed by stretching another rubber band with 3 units square for breadth
and 2 units square for length. Ask students to count the squares enclosed in
that rectangular shape.
(c) The region enclosed is 6 square units. Repeat with a few more sizes and the
students will get the idea involved.
Figure 9.8: Geoboard
Now, if the measurement unit is in centimetres, then we call the one unit square
one square cm. This means that each side of the square has breadth and length of
1cm long. Activities 9.7 and 9.8 will help your students understand this better.

ACTIVITY 9.7
Give the students some pieces of grids (shown below) that are coloured in
the shapes of squares and rectangles. Ask the students to count the unit
squares enclosed and determine the area of the shapes that are shaded.
ACTIVITY 9.8
Cut out small pieces of unit squares and give the same number of pieces to
groups of students.
(a) Ask them to count the number of pieces of unit squares they have.
(b) Then ask them to arrange the squares to form different shapes.
(c) For each shape they make, ask them the size or the area.
(d) They will find that the area for each shape is still the same as before.
9.2.3 Calculate the Area

To calculate the area of a shape, you need to measure and record the dimensions
first. The area in square units is equal to the length multiplied by the breadth.
Area in square units = Length  Breadth

For example, see Figure 9.9:
Figure 9.9: Example of a grid
Each small cube is 1cm  1cm. Measure with a ruler the length and breadth and
then fill up the table below:
Unit Squares Length Breadth Area = Length  Breadth

16 4 4 4cm  4cm = 16 square cm =16cm2
Example 4:
The breadth of a portrait is three times its length. If the length is 12cm, find the
area of the portrait.
Solution:
12 cm
What is given? Length: 12cm
Breath : 3  12cm = 36cm
What is asked for? Area
What operation is needed? Multiplication 36 cm
Solve Area = Length  Breadth

= 12cm  36cm
= 432cm2
To check Use division:
432cm2  12cm = 36cm
Try out Activity 9.9 to grasp the concepts.

ACTIVITY 9.9
1. Give the properties of squares, rectangles and circles.
2. The perimeter is the total length around the outside of a 2D shape.

State the units which can be used to represent perimeter.
3. The perimeter is calculated by adding all the lengths of a shape. Find

the perimeter of the triangle below:
4. Find the perimeter and area of each shape.
Perimeter = ____cm Perimeter = ____cm

2
Area = ____cm Area = ____cm2
5. Ramu placed a carpet in the living area of the house. Its dimensions
are 4m by 6m. What is the area of the carpet?
6. The area of a playing field is 660m2. If the length is 30m, find its:
(a) Breadth; and
(b) Perimeter.

9.3 THREE-DIMENSIONAL (3D) SPACE

In this part, we learn about objects that are three-dimensional or 3D. The things
we see around us are all 3D actually. Objects that are three-dimensional can be
measured using length, breadth and height. Everything around us can be described
in three dimensions because it is solid and has depth. In this lesson, you will learn
how to identify the dimensions of cubes and cuboids. Next, you will learn about
measuring and recording the dimensions and also calculating volume from these
dimensions. Once you know that your students have understood, you can guide
them in solving problems.
Let us start by identifying simple geometrical objects that are 3D such as cubes
and cuboids.
9.3.1 Identify Dimensions of Cubes and Cuboids

There are many examples of objects in the classroom that are shaped like cubes
and cuboids. Point these out to the students, for example, boxes, books, duster and
others. Let them see and feel those objects. Compare them to 2D objects that they
have learnt about earlier. I am sure they will see the difference. Explain that the
objects that they see have three dimensions and therefore have unit measurements
such as height, length and breadth. Show them a picture of a cube and a cuboid
(see Figure 9.10).
Figure 9.10: Cube and cuboid
A cube has equal dimensions, that is, Length = Breadth = Height.
Height is the vertical distance from the base to the top.
The dimensions of a cuboid are not equal, meaning that not all the sides are the
same length.

Do an activity with the students involving building cubes and cuboids from nets.
This is given in Activity 9.10.
ACTIVITY 9.10
Provide the students with some

geometric nets and ask them to build
cubes or cuboids from them by
folding them. The dimensions of the
cubes and cuboids may be different.
9.3.2 Unit Cubes

We all know now that a cube has three dimensions. So, a unit cube is actually the
volume of one cube with the dimension of 1 unit  1 unit  1 unit. Show some
illustrations to your students like in Figure 9.11:
Figure 9.11: Comparing cuboids with unit cubes

The amount of space filled up by the 12 unit cubes in Figure 9.11 is the volume of
the cuboid. Therefore, volume is the amount of space taken up by the solid shape.
9.3.3 Volume of Cubes and Cuboids

Now that you know how to explain what a unit cube means, you can teach the
students how to measure cubes and cuboids and list their dimensions. This will
help you to find volume of the solids.
Volume in cubic units = Length  Breadth  Height
Ask your students to measure the two solids in Figure 9.12. Then, ask them to fill
in the information in the table below. Assume that one cubic unit is equal to one
cubic cm.
Figure 9.12: Cube and cuboid
Unit Volume = Length 

Shapes Length Breadth Height
Squares Breadth Height
Cube 8 2 2 2 2cm 2cm  2cm
= 8 cubic cm
Cuboid 16 4 2 2 4cm 2cm  2cm
= 16 cubic cm
Let us try out some examples showing how to solve problems involving volume
of cubes and cuboids.

Example 5:
A textbook is 5m long, 4m wide and 2m high. Find the volume.
Solution:
What is given? Length: 5m
Breadth: 4m
Height: 2m
What is asked for? Volume of the book
What operation is needed? Multiplication
Solve Volume = Length  Breadth  Height
= 5m  4m  2m
= 40m3
To check Area of the base = Length  Breadth
= 5m  4m
= 20m2
Volume = Area  Height
= 20m2  2m
= 40m3
Example 6:
The dimension of an aquarium is 2m long, 0.8m wide and 1m high. Find its
volume.
Solution:
What is given? Length: 2m
Breadth: 0.8m
Height: 1m
What is asked for? Volume of the book
Solve: Volume = Length  Breadth  Height

= 2m  0.8m  1m
= 1.6m3

To check: Area of the base = Length  Breadth

= 2m  0.8m
= 1.6m2
Volume = Area  Height
= 1.6m2  1m
= 1.6m3
It is good to do some self-check activities to see if you have understood the

materials. See Self Check 9.1.
SELF-CHECK 9.1
How would you explain the differences between 2D and 3D shapes to

your students?
Give examples of 2D objects and 3D objects.
What is the meaning of perimeter?
How would you define the area of a cube and a cuboid?
Write the formula for calculating the volume of a cube and cuboid.
Before we end, try out Activity 9.11.

ACTIVITY 9.11
Solve the following problems:

1. A steel box has dimensions of 25cm by 34cm by 42cm. Find its
volume.
2. The volume of a cuboid-shaped container is 108m3. If the base area

is 18m2, what is its height?
3. How many more cubes are needed to fill

the container pictured on the right?
____ unit cubes.
4. How many 1cm unit cubes are needed to fill the shapes given below?
(a) (b)


 How to identify 2D shapes.
 How to identify 3D shapes.
 How to find perimeter and area of cubes, cuboids and triangles.
 The meaning of cubic units.
 How to solve problems involving volume of cubes and cuboids.
2D (two-dimensional) Rectangle
3D (three-dimensional) Ruler
Area Shapes
Breadth Square
Cubes Triangle
Cuboids Unit cubes
Height Unit squares
Length Volume
Perimeter

Mathsteacher.com Pty Ltd. (2007). Year 8 interactive Maths (2nd ed.). Retrieved
from http://www.mathsteacher.com.au/year8/ch10_ geomcons/07_setsquare/
set.htm


Topic  Data
10 Handling
LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Describe and interpret pictographs;
2. Construct pictographs to read and display data;
3. Describe and interpret bar graphs;
4. Construct bar graphs to read and display data; and
5. Solve problems using pictographs and bar graphs.
 INTRODUCTION
This topic has a lot of graphics that I am sure your students will enjoy. We often
have to deal with a lot of data and knowing how to display and read them is very
useful. When data are handled systematically, we will be able to interpret data
more effectively and efficiently.
Figure 10.1: Graphs

210  TOPIC 10 DATA HANDLING
Figure 10.1 shows one of the methods of displaying data for easy reading. There
are many ways to handle data that we receive but the most common would be
using pictographs and bar graphs or charts to describe them. So, this topic will
discuss pictographs and bar graphs, specifically on how to describe and interpret
them. Learning will be fun with some activities involved. You can also try out
some problems yourself at the end of the topic.
10.1 PICTOGRAPHS
A pictograph displays data and compares information in the form of a chart but by
using pictures. In some reading materials, pictographs are also known as
pictograms. They are both the same. In every pictograph, there will be a key to
represent the number of items. We shall start by learning how to describe
pictographs and how to interpret them.
10.1.1 Describing and Interpreting Pictographs

Figure 10.2 shows a pictograph using basketballs as pictures. In order to explain
to your students, you have to show them a pictograph and point to them the items
on it.
Figure 10.2: A pictograph showing the number of basketballs for each person
Ask them to try and describe the pictograph by raising some questions to them:
(a) What is the title of the pictograph?

(b) What picture is used?
(c) What does the key mean?
TOPIC 10 DATA HANDLING  211
(d) How many people are involved in the data?

(e) Who has the most number of basketballs?
(f) Who has the least number of basketballs?
(g) If one basketball represents 2 balls, how many balls are there altogether?
The questions above will help your students understand pictographs. At the same
time, you must also explain to them in detail what the pictograph means.
The data in that pictograph shows the number of basketballs each person has. It
tells us that Sally has 3 balls, Ken has 2 balls, Kamal has 1 ball and lastly, Ben has
4 balls.
Now, as in the first example above, a picture can represent quantity. This means
that one picture can represent one or more quantities.
Let us look at the next pictograph.
Figure 10.3: Elephants at the zoo

The pictograph in Figure 10.3 shows the number of elephants in each zoo. A
picture of an elephant is used as a key to represent quantity. In this case, the
quantity for each elephant picture is five. Ask the students similar questions as
before as they observe the pictograph. For example:
(a) What is the title of the pictograph?

(b) What picture is being used here?
(c) What does the key mean?
(d) How many zoos are involved in the data?
(e) Which zoo has the most elephants?
(f) Which zoo has the least elephants?
(g) How many elephants are there in total?
Your students may not be able to answer all the questions just yet. They need
some help in calculating the number of elephants in each zoo. Help them by
providing a simple table like Table 10.1.
Table 10.1: List of Data from Pictograph

Zoo Number of Elephants
Melaka 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 25 or 5  5 = 25
KL 5 + 5 + 5 = 15 or 5 3 = 15
Perak 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 20 or 5  4 = 20
Johor 5 + 5 = 10 or 5 2 = 10
From the table, we can deduce that Melaka Zoo has the most number of elephants
with 25 and Johor Zoo has the least.
The total number of elephants in all the zoos is 25 + 15 + 20 + 10 = 70.
You could also find this out by counting the number of picture elephants in the
pictograph and then multiplying it by 5.
14 picture elephants  5 = 70

SELF-CHECK 10.1
1. What does a pictograph mean?

2. How would you describe a pictograph to your
students?
3. What does the key in the pictograph represent?
4. What are the advantages of using pictographs to display data?
Now that the students have understood the idea of how to describe and interpret
pictographs, it is best for you to give them some activities to enhance their
understanding. The following is an activity which you can ask your class to do.
ACTIVITY 10.1
Extract and interpret the pictograph.
Give the pictograph to the students to study. You can ask them to work in
pairs or groups. After a few minutes, give them a table for them to fill up
the data.

Flavours Number of Sweets

Orange
Chocolate
Lemon
Strawberry
Then ask them these questions:
1. How many strawberry flavoured sweets are there?

2. How many chocolate flavoured sweets are there?
3. What is the total number of sweets?
10.1.2 Constructing Pictographs

To construct a pictograph, we need to have data. It is the reverse process of
reading a pictograph. Previously, we got data from reading a pictograph.
However, now, it is time to construct pictograph from the information that we
have.
Consider the following example.
Provide the following data in table form to the students. You can ask them to
work in groups.
Table 10.2: Fish in a Stall
Fishes in a Stall
Fishes Number of Fish
Dory 10
Sardine 2
Salmon 6
Mackerel 4
Cod 8

By using the data above, show students how you can draw a pictograph using
pictures of fish. Tell them that they can decide the quantity of the fish. Say for
example, you can use one picture to represent 1 fish.
Figure 10.4: Fish in a stall
This is just one way to draw the pictograph. Tell the students that there are many
ways to display the data that we have, for example by changing the picture, the
key or even presenting the pictograph horizontally (see Figure 10.2).
Let the students be imaginative and see what they can come up with. You would
be surprised to see the pictographs they present to you.

Before you begin the activity below, here are some general guidelines when
drawing a pictograph:
(a) Draw a horizontal or a vertical line as a baseline;
(b) Write the names of the items that you have;
(c) Put a symbol to represent the number of items you have in each category;
(d) Put in a key to represent the quantity of items. (i.e.: 1 symbol = ? items); and
(e) Finally, write a title for the graph.
ACTIVITY 10.2
Construct a Pictograph
Give a table to the students and ask them to work in groups of four.
Fruits in a Stall
Fruits Number of Fruits
Papaya 14
Orange 10
Kiwi 20
Apple 16
Star fruit 18
(a) Ask your students to draw a pictograph based on the information

above.
(b) Tell them to use any picture symbol they like.
(c) Provide them with big cardboards for them to do this.
(d) When they have finished, ask each group to present their pictograph
to the class.
Next, ask each group about their key representing the quantity of fruits.
Then, ask them to change the quantity and to redraw the pictograph.

10.2 BAR GRAPHS

A bar graph is quite similar to a pictograph but it involves using two axes to
display the data. In a bar graph, we do not use pictures but just bars (long
rectangular shape) to represent quantity of the data. The bars may look horizontal
or vertical in the graph. If the bars are upright, we call them vertical bar graphs.
Otherwise, they are called horizontal bar graphs. Figure 10.5 shows an example of
a vertical bar graph.
Figure 10.5: Vertical bar graph
Let us begin by describing and interpreting some bar graphs.
10.2.1 Describing and Interpreting Bar Graphs

Figure 10.6 shows a vertical bar graph. Let us study the details on the graph and
try to understand what it means.

Figure 10.6: Vertical bar graph – Number of curry puffs sold in three days
Let us examine the information available:
(a) Title of bar graph: Curry Puffs Sold
(b) Vertical axis on the left: Shows the number of curry puffs sold.
(c) Markings on the vertical axis: Shows the scales in a specific range. The
interval is 5 in this case.
(d) Horizontal axis: Shows the days – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
(e) The bars: Show the number of curry puffs sold on Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday.
Therefore, the information above sums up the data presented in the bar graph. We
can quickly gain information or data from just reading the graphs. Bar graphs
make it easier for us to visually read data in an effective way.
Once you have understood the chart, you may ask your students specific questions
such as:
(a) How many curry puffs were sold on Monday? Answer: 20.
(b) How many curry puffs were sold on Wednesday? Answer: 30.
(c) On which day the least curry puffs were sold? Answer: Tuesday.
(d) What is the total number of curry puffs sold in all three days? Answer: 20 +
15 + 30 = 65.
Let us now interpret a bar graph which is displayed horizontally. See

Figure 10.7.
Figure 10.7: Horizontal bar graph – Sport events
From the horizontal bar graph in Figure 10.6, we can collect data and record it in a
table below. See Table 10.3.
Table 10.3: Data Obtained from Bar Graph

Types of Events Number of Pupils
Netball 10
Badminton 35
Running 15
Swimming 50
Table 10.3 clearly shows the information we need. We can see that most of the
students will take part in swimming (50 students) and the least number of students
will take part in netball (10 students).

Total number of students taking part in the sport events is:
10 + 35 + 15 + 50 = 110
SELF-CHECK 10.2
1. What is a bar graph?

2. How would you describe a vertical and a
horizontal bar graph to your students?
3. What is the difference between the pictograph
and the bar graph?
4. How many axes does a bar graph have?
10.2.2 Constructing Bar Graphs

Constructing bar graphs is the same as constructing pictographs, that is, we need
to read and understand data that we have. Once you have understood the data, you
can then plot a bar graph based on the facts you have. Before you begin plotting
the graph, you have to decide whether you want to use a vertical bar graph or a
horizontal one. Either one is possible and will show the same result.
See the following example.
Provide a set of data in table form and show it to the class. These data may not
necessarily be in table form. You could also use words. Nevertheless, you should
be able to derive the facts from them.
Table 10.4 shows some information on the types of flowers and their quantity in a
garden. You can ask the students to obtain this data from the school garden.

Table 10.4: Flowers in the Garden

Flowers in the Garden
Flowers Number of Flowers
Rose 20
Sunflower 26
Orchid 18
Daisy 10
Hibiscus 28
From the data in Table 10.4, you should be able to construct a bar graph. Illustrate
how you can do this to the students. The best is to sketch the graph on the board
for them to see. Now, we will show you a vertical bar graph depicting the data
above. See Figure 10.8.
Figure 10.8: Vertical bar graph – Flowers in the garden
Here are some steps to follow when you plot a vertical bar graph:
Step 1: Draw and name the vertical and horizontal axes.
Step 2: Determine the correct intervals to be marked on the vertical axis.
Step 3: Write the name of the items below the horizontal axis.

Step 4: Draw the bars vertically according to the quantity given for each item.
Then colour the bars.
Step 5: Lastly, write a proper title for the graph.
Use similar steps when you want to plot a horizontal bar graph:
Step 1: Draw and name the vertical and horizontal axes.
Step 2: Determine the correct intervals to be marked on the horizontal axis.
Step 3: Write the names of items on the left of the vertical axis.
Step 4: Draw the bars horizontally according to the quantity given for each item.
Then colour the bars.
Step 5: Lastly, write a proper title for the graph.
A useful tip to remember is that for vertical bar graphs, numerical values are
normally on the vertical axis. It is the opposite for horizontal bar graphs.
Figure 10.9 shows a horizontal bar graph for the same example above. Compare
both graphs.
Figure 10.9: Horizontal bar graph – Flowers in the garden
Now, do try out the next activity with your students. I am sure they will enjoy doing
it.

ACTIVITY 10.3
Construct a Vertical Bar Graph

Let the students work in groups of four.
Materials needed: Manila card, pencil, colour pencils, papers.
Give the students a chart to collect data from their friends.
Favourite Food of Friends

Food Names of Friends
Ice-cream
Cakes
Nasi lemak
Fried chicken
Doughnuts
Once they have collected the data, ask them to complete the following
table.
Favourite Food of Friends

Food Number of Friends
Ice-cream
Cakes
Nasi lemak
Fried chicken
Doughnuts
Then, ask them to construct a vertical bar graph showing the information
they have obtained. You may also ask them to construct a horizontal bar
graph using the same data.

10.3 SOLVING PROBLEMS INVOLVING

PICTOGRAPHS AND BAR GRAPHS
This section discusses how to solve problems involving pictographs and bar
graphs. You will look at how questions are asked about the graphs and how to
answer them. This will guide you in teaching your students. Use the previous
sections to guide you through. Let us look at the first example.
Example 1:
A teacher brought four books to the class and asked each student to choose which
book they most preferred to read. After collecting the data, the teacher displays
the information to the class in a pictograph. See Figure 10.10.
Figure 10.10: Books to read
Find the following data:
(a) The number of students who chose to read Book A.

(b) The number of the most popular choice of book.
(c) The least preferred book.
(d) The difference in the number of students who liked Book D and Book C.

Solution:
(a) The number of students who chose Book A.

Since
= 2 students
= 4  2 = 8 students
So, 8 students chose Book A.
(b) The most popular choice of book is Book D.
= 7  2 = 14 students.
14 students chose Book D.
(c) The least preferred book is Book C.
(d) Book C: = 3  2 = 6 students
Book D: = 7  2 = 14 students.
The difference is 14 students – 6 students = 8 students.
So the difference is 8 students.

Example 2:
Makcik Ram sells some food at her stall. Below is a bar graph that shows the
amount of food she sold in one day. See Figure 10.11 and answer the questions.
Figure 10.11: Food sold
(a) What type of food did she sell the least of?
(b) What type of food did she sell the most of?
(c) How many packets of noodles did Makcik Ram sell?
(d) If each packet of chicken rice cost RM3.50, how much did Makcik Ram
make only from selling chicken rice?
Solution:
(a) The type of food which was sold the least is Popiah.
(b) The type of food which was sold the most is Fried Chicken.
(c) 10 packets of noodles were sold.
(d) What is given? Number of chicken rice sold: 15
Each packet is RM3.50.
What is asked? Money collected from selling chicken rice.


Solve. RM3.50  15 = RM52.50.
Hence, Makcik Ram collected RM52.50 from selling chicken rice.
Before we end this topic, do try the following activities.
ACTIVITY 10.4
1. The table below shows the number of cars sold by a dealer in various
years. Construct a pictograph and use a suitable key to represent cars.
Give a title to the pictograph.
Cars Sold by a Dealer

Year Number of Cars
2004 50
2005 46
2006 38
2007 30
2008 40
2. An aquarium has a few kinds of sea creatures in it. Data was

collected and put in a table as shown below. Construct a horizontal
bar graph showing the information given.
Sea Creatures in an Aquarium

Sea Creatures Number of Sea Creatures
Seahorse 3
Jellyfish 5
Starfish 6
Crabs 7
Angelfish 4

ACTIVITY 10.5
1. The pictograph below shows some information on the number of

fruits sold by a fruit seller. Answer the following questions.
(a) Which type of fruit was sold the most?
(b) The type of fruit with the least number sold is _____________.
(c) There were _____________ apples sold.
(d) How many fruits were sold altogether?

2. Look at the bar graph below and answer the questions.
(a) How many pens were bought?
(b) What item was bought the least?
(c) What was the total number of items bought?
In this topic, we have learned about how to:

 Describe and interpret pictographs and bar graphs;
 Construct pictographs and bar graphs to display data; and
 Solve problems involving pictographs and bar graphs.

Bar graph Pictograph

Data Picture
Describe Quantity
Horizontal bar graph Symbol
Interpret Title
Key Vertical bar graph
Primary Resources. (2008). Maths: Data handling. Retrieved from http://www.

primaryresources.co.uk/maths/mathsE1.htm


MODULE FEEDBACK
MAKLUM BALAS MODUL
If you have any comment or feedback, you are welcome to:
1. E-mail your comment or feedback to modulefeedback@oum.edu.my
OR
2. Fill in the Print Module online evaluation form available on myINSPIRE.
Thank you.
Centre for Instructional Design and Technology

(Pusat Reka Bentuk Pengajaran dan Teknologi )
Tel No.: 03-27732578
Fax No.: 03-26978702


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Faculty of Education and Languages

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Module Writers: Dr Mahmood Othman

Goh Thian Hee

Moderators: Siti Farina Sheikh Mohamed

Goh Thian Hee

Developed by: Centre for Instructional Design and Technology

First Edition, April 2008

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Topic 1 Whole Numbers 1

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5.3 Multiplication and Division Involving Time 111

Topic 6 Length 122

Topic 7 Mass 145

Topic 8 Volume of Liquid 165

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Topic 9 Shape and Space 188

Topic 10 Data Handling 209

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Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

COURSE GUIDE DESCRIPTION

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Table 1: Estimation of Time Accumulation of Study Hours

Topic 1 is a continuation of the same topic learned in Teaching of Elementary

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Topic 2 discusses fraction. Fraction is used in almost every type of measurement

Topic 5 demonstrates the basic operations of units of time. It is very important to

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TEXT ARRANGEMENT GUIDE

Self-Check: This component of the module is inserted at strategic locations

Activity: Like Self-Check, the Activity component is also placed at various

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References: The References section is where a list of relevant and useful

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TAN SRI DR ABDULLAH SANUSI (TSDAS) DIGITAL

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By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

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1.1 READING AND WRITING WHOLE

 Counting the total number of thumb tacks in the classroom;

(a) Recognising Whole Numbers

Let us look at a simple example of counting numbers in groups of ten

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Figure 1.1: Sample exercise

(iii) Ask students to add up all the rambutans.

10,000 + 10,000 + 10,000 + 10,000 + 10,000 + 10,000 + 10,000 +

(b) Reading and Writing Whole Numbers up to 100,000

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students may seem confused and find it difficult to understand. But go

Figure 1.2 (a): Example of postcode

Figure 1.2 (b): Example of a cheque

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1.2 PLACE VALUE

(a) Knowing Place Value of Numbers Up to 100,000

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Table 1.1: Sample Exercise

Thousand Hundred Ten One

Convert the following words into numbers:

(b) Comparing and Arranging Numbers

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Table 1.2: Two Methods of Arranging Numbers