Read Scales On Measuring Equipment

In this activity, we are going to look at reading scales on number lines on different types of measuring equipment.

In a simple example it looks like this:

What is the value that the arrow is pointing to?

We can see that there are five divisions between 0 litres and 5 litres.

5 litres ÷  5 = 1 litre for each division.

Therefore, the arrow is pointing to 3 litres - easy!

Let's try one a little more tricky!

Question

What is the value that the arrow is pointing to?

Answer

As with the simple one, we need to work out what each division is worth.

4 cm - 2 cm = 2 cm

There are four divisions so: 

2 ÷ 4 = 0.5 cm for each division.

2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, .......

The answer is 3.5 cm

Are you ready to have a go at some questions now?