Year 2 explorers meet standard units: centimetres and metres for length, grams and kilograms for mass, millilitres and litres for capacity, and degrees Celsius for temperature — and learn to choose the right one for the job.
What your child will learn
- Choose sensible units for length, mass and capacity
- Read and compare temperatures in °C
- Solve adding and subtracting stories with lengths, masses and capacities
- Choose the right measuring tool
Small units and big units
Each kind of measuring has a small unit and a big unit: centimetres and metres, grams and kilograms, millilitres and litres. Short, light or small things use the small unit; long, heavy or large things use the big one.
Reading a thermometer
On a thermometer, a bigger number means hotter. If it is 12°C and it gets 5 degrees warmer, the temperature goes up to 17°C.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. Which unit would you use to measure the height of a door?
- kilograms (kg)
- grams (g)
- metres (m)
- centimetres (cm)
Show answer
Answer: metres (m). A door is about 2 metres tall — metres suit long things.
2. Which unit would you use to measure the mass of an apple?
- metres (m)
- grams (g)
- millilitres (ml)
- kilograms (kg)
Show answer
Answer: grams (g). An apple is light — about 150 grams.
3. Which unit would you use to measure the width of a book?
- kilograms (kg)
- litres (l)
- centimetres (cm)
- metres (m)
Show answer
Answer: centimetres (cm). A book is only a few centimetres wide.
Tips for grown-ups
- Read the labels on food packets and drinks: grams, kilograms, millilitres or litres?
- Use a measuring jug when cooking or at bath time.
- Check the weather forecast together and compare temperatures.