Length facts for kids
Length is a property of a thing that can be measured. One of the methods of measurement is either using a ruler or a Geometric Square. We generally measure the length of small shapes but we have made a range of sizes so you can either have an 'easy to go' degree of accuracy or an close to exact measurement in millimeters, or even more accurate ways of saying that length, the more longer the object seems the lesser the degree of accuracy we tend to measure it. The length of something is the distance between two ends of the thing. Short means of small length. Long means of much length. Short and long are opposites. For two dimensional things, length is usually the longer side of measurement.
Measuring
- A line has one size measurement. This one measurement is the length.
- A circle's length is called its circumference.
- A rectangle has two measurements that show its size. These two measurements are the length and the width of the rectangle.
- The length and width of a square are the same.
- A box has three measurements that show its size. These three measurements are the length, the width and the depth of the box.
- The big measurement of a person or a tree standing up is not called length, but height. The big measurement of a tree that fell down is the tree's length.
Distance Examples
- The distance from the front of the bus to the back of the bus is 30 meters. The bus is said to be 30 meters in length.
- A piece of wood is 10 meters by 10 cm by 15 cm. The piece of wood is 10 meters in length.
Length of Time
Length is also a property of time. An amount of time has a length.
Time Example
John sits down at one o'clock, or 1h. John waits until three o'clock, or 3h. John stands up at three o'clock, or 3h. John was sitting for 2 hours. The length of time John was sitting was two hours.
See also
In Spanish: Longitud para niños
