Lesson 4 | Unit Conversions | 4th Grade Mathematics

Objective

Solve multi-step word problems that requires metric unit conversions of length, mass, and capacity.

Common Core Standards

Core Standards

The core standards covered in this lesson

4.MD.A.2 — Use the four operations to solve word problems involving distances, intervals of time, liquid volumes, masses of objects, and money, including problems involving simple fractions or decimals, and problems that require expressing measurements given in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Represent measurement quantities using diagrams such as number line diagrams that feature a measurement scale.

Measurement and Data

4.MD.A.2 — Use the four operations to solve word problems involving distances, intervals of time, liquid volumes, masses of objects, and money, including problems involving simple fractions or decimals, and problems that require expressing measurements given in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Represent measurement quantities using diagrams such as number line diagrams that feature a measurement scale.

Foundational Standards

The foundational standards covered in this lesson

3.MD.A.2

Measurement and Data

3.MD.A.2 — Measure and estimate liquid volumes and masses of objects using standard units of grams (g), kilograms (kg), and liters (l). Add, subtract, multiply, or divide to solve one-step word problems involving masses or volumes that are given in the same units, e.g., by using drawings (such as a beaker with a measurement scale) to represent the problem. Excludes multiplicative comparison problems (problems involving notions of "times as much"; Excludes compound units such as cm³ and finding the geometric volume of a container.
4.OA.A.3

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

4.OA.A.3 — Solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers and having whole-number answers using the four operations, including problems in which remainders must be interpreted. Represent these problems using equations with a letter standing for the unknown quantity. Assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimation strategies including rounding.

Criteria for Success

The essential concepts students need to demonstrate or understand to achieve the lesson objective

Solve multi-step word problems that require metric unit conversions of length, mass, and capacity (MP.4).

Tips for Teachers

Suggestions for teachers to help them teach this lesson

Let students work on each problem in the Problem Set independently and circulate to see whether students are solving correctly. If not, come back together to discuss how/what to draw on a tape diagram, then allow them to try again on their own.

Fishtank Plus

Unlock features to optimize your prep time, plan engaging lessons, and monitor student progress.

Anchor Tasks

Tasks designed to teach criteria for success of the lesson, and guidance to help draw out student understanding

Problem 1

Jennifer, Leon, and Veronica get to the airport for their trip. They see this on their ticket:

The weight of their bags is listed below.

Suitcase	Mass
Blue	26 kg
Black	20 kg 40 g
Gray	23,975 g

a. Are each of their bags within the weight limit? If not, which ones exceed it?

b. Can they rearrange the contents of their bags so that they are all under the weight limit?

c. If so, how much weight under the limit will they be in total? If not, what might be an object they packed that they could take out of their suitcases to be under the limit?

Guiding Questions

Create a free account or sign in to access the Guiding Questions for this Anchor Problem.

Problem 2

Here are six water bottle sizes and four clues about the amount of water they each hold.

One bottle holds 350 mL.
A bottle in size B holds 5 times as much water as the bottle that holds 1 L.
The largest bottle holds 20 times the amount of water in the smallest bottle.
One bottle holds 1,500 mL, which is 3 times as much water as a bottle in size E.

Use the clues to find out the amount of water, in mL, that each bottle size holds. Be prepared to explain or show your reasoning.

Guiding Questions

Create a free account or sign in to access the Guiding Questions for this Anchor Problem.

References

Illustrative Mathematics Grade 4 Unit 5 Lesson 10 Activity 2

Grade 4 Unit 5 Lesson 10 Activity 2, accessed on Aug. 21, 2023, 3:40 p.m., is licensed by Illustrative Mathematics under either the CC BY 4.0 or CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. For further information, contact Illustrative Mathematics.

Problem Set

Problem Set

Answer Keys

Unlock the answer keys for this lesson's problem set and extra practice problems to save time and support student learning.

Discussion of Problem Set

How did you determine how much apple juice Lisa put in the glass in #2?
How many total grams of corn did Farmer Asmed sell in #6? How did you solve?

Target Task

A task that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved

Problem 1

The average fourth grader is about three times as tall as the average newborn baby. If babies are on average 45 cm 7 mm when they are born, what is the height of the average fourth grader?

Problem 2

Jeff is making fruit punch. The recipe includes equal amounts of mango and pineapple juice and 490 mL of orange juice. If the recipe makes 1 L 50 mL, how much of each of the mango and pineapple juices are in the recipe?

Student Response

An example response to the Target Task at the level of detail expected of the students.

Create a free account or sign in to view Student Response

Additional Practice

The Extra Practice Problems can be used as additional practice for homework, during an intervention block, etc. Daily Word Problems and Fluency Activities are aligned to the content of the unit but not necessarily to the lesson objective, therefore feel free to use them anytime during your school day.

Extra Practice Problems

Extra Practice Problems

Answer Keys

Answer keys for Problem Sets and Extra Practice Problems are available with a Fishtank Plus subscription.

Word Problems and Fluency Activities

Help students strengthen their application and fluency skills with daily word problem practice and content-aligned fluency activities.

Lesson 3

Lesson 5

Lesson Map

Topic A: Metric Unit Conversion

Express metric length measurements in terms of a smaller unit, recording measurement equivalents in a two-column table. Solve one-step word problems that require metric length unit conversion.

4.MD.A.1 4.MD.A.2

Express metric mass and capacity measurements in terms of a smaller unit, recording measurement equivalents in a two-column table. Solve one-step word problems that require metric mass or capacity unit conversion.

4.MD.A.1 4.MD.A.2

Know and relate metric units to place value units in order to express measurements in different units.

4.MD.A.1

Solve multi-step word problems that requires metric unit conversions of length, mass, and capacity.

4.MD.A.2

Topic B: Customary Unit Conversion

Express customary length measurements in terms of a smaller unit, recording measurement equivalents in a two-column table. Solve one-step word problems that require customary length unit conversion.

4.MD.A.1 4.MD.A.2

Express customary weight measurements in terms of a smaller unit, recording measurement equivalents in a two-column table. Solve one-step word problems that require customary weight unit conversion.

4.MD.A.1 4.MD.A.2

Express customary capacity measurements in terms of a smaller unit, recording measurement equivalents in a two-column table. Solve one-step word problems that require customary capacity unit conversion.

4.MD.A.1 4.MD.A.2

Express time measurements in terms of a smaller unit, recording measurement equivalents in a two-column table. Solve one-step word problems that require time unit conversion.

4.MD.A.1 4.MD.A.2

Solve multi-step word problems involving conversion of customary units of length, weight, capacity, and time.

4.MD.A.2

Topic C: Fraction and Decimal Unit Conversions

Express fractional measurements in terms of a smaller unit.

4.MD.A.1 4.MD.A.2

Express decimal measurements in terms of a smaller unit.

4.MD.A.1 4.MD.A.2

Solve word problems involving converting fractional and decimal measurements to a smaller unit.

4.MD.A.2

Unit Conversions

Objective

Common Core Standards

Core Standards

Measurement and Data

Foundational Standards

Measurement and Data

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

Criteria for Success

Tips for Teachers

Anchor Tasks

Problem 1

Guiding Questions

Problem 2

Guiding Questions

References

Problem Set

Discussion of Problem Set

Target Task

Problem 1

Problem 2

Student Response

Additional Practice

Extra Practice Problems

Word Problems and Fluency Activities

Lesson Map

Request a Demo

Contact Information

School Information

What courses are you interested in?

ELA

Math

Are you interested in onboarding professional learning for your teachers and instructional leaders?

Any other information you would like to provide about your school?

Effective Instruction Made Easy