Estimating Weight Worksheets
This is a huge life skill that many people truly master. One thing that always amazed me, as a kid, was how one of delivery guys that always dropped packages off at our house was so good at telling you how much it would cost to ship a package. He would literally hold it with one hand and tell you within an ounce, which is a small unit, how much it weighed. As I got older, I realized why he was so good at it. This is because his truck was organized by the weight of items. He had to place them in certain areas, the longer it took him, the longer his day was. I’m sure he was highly motivated to learn that skill to get through his day quicker. It is like anything though, the more practice you get at something, the better you will be at it. A great selection of worksheets and lessons that helps students learn to quickly gauge accurate measures of units of mass.
Aligned Standard: 3.MD.A.2
- Dresser Cabinet Step-by-Step Lesson- Which units of mass make the most sense for a cabinet?
- Guided Lesson - I hope you can explain the shipping container to them in number one. This has appeared on tests in the past.
- Guided Lesson Explanation - I like to explain things as far as which would hurt the most if someone dropped it on my foot.
- Practice Worksheet - I never thought of the weight of a tiger, but I looked it up.
- Matching Units To Weight Worksheet - Which weight works the best? Let us know by circling it.
- Matching Worksheet - I give you a whole bunch of choices to help when tackling this one.
- Answer Keys - These are for all the unlocked materials above.
Homework Sheets
Yes, I know the cell phone image is a bit dated.
- Homework 1 - Estimate the weight of this phone. Circle the estimated weight.
- Homework 2 - This looks like a very heavy object. I would therefore say we are looking for the largest unit possible.
- Homework 3 - Paper is very light, so I would look for the lightest unit.
Practice Worksheets
I did research most of the answers so that they flow with reality.
- Practice 1 - All the measures differ by units of measure. The best thing to do is to determine if the object is light or heavy.
- Practice 2 - If it is heavy, we will get rid of the light units.
- Practice 3 - If the object is light, we will get rid of the heavy units.
Math Skill Quizzes
See how the quizzes go. I used the most common objects I have seen on tests.
- Quiz 1 - Estimate the weight of this Lion. Circle the estimated weight.
- Quiz 2 - Ounces are appropriate units to use to measure the weight of a key.
How to Estimate Weight
Have you ever seen your teachers, elders, and friends making wild guesses about a material, object, and a person? Does this make you wonder how you are so well at making such estimates? If that's what you think, here we tell you a little secret. You can make wild guesses or estimates too about the weight of objects or persons. Estimating is a skill that you will greatly need in mathematics as well as in your daily life. When ever you ship a package anywhere, it is always focused on the weight of the package.
To make it easier for you, let's make you learn estimation starting with a grocery store. When you go to the grocery store the produce section is where all the fruits and vegetables in the store are found. How we purchase fruits and vegetables are based on two principles bunches or weight. Things like fresh broccoli and cucumbers are sold in bunches or individual units. This means that every unit you have costs a fixed amount. Most things in the produce section are sold by their weight. Most people will put a set number of apples or onions in a bag and weigh it on a scale to get an idea of how much it will cost them. What happens if the scale is broken or not available? This is where estimation comes in super handy.
One strategy you can use is trying to make a mental estimation with similar objects. Use specific weight units like ounce for lighter objects, pounds for medium objects, and kilograms for heavy objects. You would compare things that you are familiar with that have that fixed known weight. You would then compare these objects to objects that you are familiar with. There are many things that you are familiar with that weigh a pound. Here are a few: a shoe, a loaf of bread, a can of soup, and a football. For light objects there are a number of everyday objects that weigh an ounce like: a pencil, a slice of bread, a single AA battery, and 10 pennies. For those heavier objects you already know a bunch of things that weigh a kilogram including: a liter of water, bag of rice, a pineapple, or a 2-slice toaster.