Science Common Sense


1251 - How can we estimate during measurement?

Measuring things can be tricky, but there's a way to make smart guesses, called estimating. Estimating helps when you don't have exact tools or when you just want to check if your answer is reasonable.

To estimate, follow these steps:

  1. Look at the thing you need to measure.
  2. Find something you know the size of (like a ruler, a book, or even your hand).
  3. Compare the thing you need to measure to the thing you know the size of.
  4. Make a smart guess, like "It's about as long as 2 rulers" or "It's a little bigger than my hand."

For example, if you need to estimate how long a room is and you know that a step is about 1 meter long, you can count how many steps it takes to cross the room and multiply it by the length of a step.

Remember, estimating is like making an educated guess, and it's always good to double-check with a ruler or other measuring tools if you need an exact answer.