Measuring Length Class 4 Maths Chapter 6 CBSE Notes 2025-26

Measuring length is an important part of mathematics that lets us compare, estimate, and find out the size of different things around us. In day-to-day life, we use words like tall, wide, short, and long to describe and compare sizes.

This chapter helps students understand that all these terms refer to the measurement of length, whether it’s height, width, depth, or breadth. Learning how to use measurement tools like ropes, measuring tapes, and scales makes measuring various objects, spaces, and even their own heights easier and more accurate.

In our surroundings, we often talk about how tall or short someone is, the width of a table, or the depth of a well. All these are just different ways of referring to length. For young learners, it’s important to know that these words—height, width, depth, breadth—are based on the object’s shape and position, but they all measure distance from one point to another. When comparing objects like blackboards or doors, students begin to use these terms practically.

When given a set of objects or scenarios, students should be able to tell whether they are being asked to measure length, height, weight, depth, breadth, or temperature. For example, measuring the height of a plant, the width of a desk, or the depth of a bucket uses different words, but all are types of length measurement. Learners also discuss tools like ropes, metre scales, and measuring tapes that help measure such physical properties accurately.

In primary classes, students are introduced to the metre as a basic unit for measuring longer lengths. They soon learn other standard units, such as the centimeter (cm) for smaller lengths. Understanding that 1 metre equals 100 centimeters is a key fact. For example:

• 1 metre (m) = 100 centimetres (cm)
• ½ metre = 50 cm
• ¼ metre = 25 cm

Activities involving ropes of different lengths (1 m, ½ m, ¼ m) help children visualize measurements. For example, to draw a 5 m or 10 m line, the metre rope can be placed repeatedly. Such hands-on activities help students understand the concept of adding up smaller pieces to make a bigger unit, and to estimate and compare large distances using standard ropes.

When students jump, walk, or crawl over measured lines (1 m, 5 m, 10 m), they start to estimate longer distances. In the long jump activity, they first estimate then measure actual distances using ropes or scales, recording their results in this format:

They can compare results to see who has the longest or shortest jump.

Students enhance their estimation skills by guessing lengths of familiar objects, like a bus or a cricket bat. For example, if one bus is about 10 metres, then two blue whales (each about 15 metres) would be as long as three buses. Comparing lengths fosters better spatial sense in children and teaches them how to relate different measurements.

Students are asked to observe measuring tapes, note that each smaller mark is 1 cm, and discover that 100 cm make up a 1-metre tape. By frequently measuring growing plants or small objects such as erasers and seeds, they see how precise small units can be. Questions often ask students to convert metres to centimetres to reinforce this skill.

Children practice measuring small objects like an eraser, fingernail, or a grain of wheat using a ruler or scale. They also learn to arrange objects in increasing order of their lengths and check if the item is less than, equal to, or more than 1 cm.

This develops accuracy while measuring and comparing small objects.

The chapter is filled with practical tasks. For example, students use toy cars and a ramp to see which car travels farthest by measuring distances in centimeters. Another activity asks them to trace and measure their hand, or use their hand-span as a rough measure, followed by checking with a scale for better accuracy. These activities connect informal estimation with formal measurement.

Sometimes a measuring scale is broken, and students need to figure out how to measure objects starting from marks other than zero. This trains them to count the number of centimetres between two marks, regardless of where the scale begins, improving problem-solving and understanding of measurement tools.

Students learn to switch between metres and centimetres. For instance, 140 cm is the same as 1 m 40 cm, and 2 m 30 cm is equal to 230 cm. Practice is provided with exercises where students fill blanks or match values to reinforce understanding. Both metre-centimetre and only centimetre formats must be comfortable for learners.

The perimeter is introduced as the total length around any object or shape, like the boundary of a garden or mat. Students estimate, measure, and calculate perimeter using fingerlengths, block prints, and later centimetre scales. They practice identifying which shapes or paths have the longest or shortest perimeter, and compare perimeters by counting on dot grids where each dot represents 1 cm.

Learners build tables to compare and estimate perimeters of objects like desks or blackboards, first making guesses and then measuring to check their estimations. They also try drawing different shapes having the same perimeter, which shows that perimeter does not depend on shape alone but on the total length of the sides.

By the end of the chapter, students appreciate how measuring length is all around us—when buying cloth, making a boundary, comparing heights with friends, or arranging objects on a table. They also realize that careful measurement gives accurate results, but estimation and informal units help in cases where tools are not available. This balance is a key life skill.

CBSE Class 4 Maths Chapter 6 Notes – Measuring Length

These revision notes for Class 4 Maths Chapter 6 cover all key concepts about measuring length, units like metres and centimetres, and hands-on activities. The simple explanations and tables help reinforce quick understanding of standard and practical measurement. Structured HTML content ensures that every topic is easy to find and review before exams.

With these notes, you can practice estimation, convert between units, and revise real-life measuring techniques used in everyday situations. This helps in developing calculation skills and visualising spatial relationships for all students in CBSE Class 4.