Units of Measurement - Short Problems

This is part of our collection of Short Problems.

You may also be interested in our longer problems on Units of Measurement.

Sense of Direction

KS 2 & 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 5 - 2012
Can you work out the direction of Abbots Morton from Wyre Piddle?

Minutes Inbetween

KS 2 & 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 30 - 2008
How many minutes are there between 11:41 and 14:02?

Stair Climb

KS 2 & 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 16 - 2006
Three people run up stairs at different rates. If they each start from a different point - who will win, come second and come last?

Race Time!

KS 2 & 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 9 - 2010
Frank and Gabriel competed in a 200m race. Interpret the different units used for their times to work out who won.

Millenium Leap

KS 2 & 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 18 - 2012
How many leap years will there be between 2001 and 3001?

Caught in the Web

KS 2 & 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 20 - 2012
Can you estimate the mass of insects caught by spiders in the UK each year?

Overtake

KS 2 & 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 19 - 2011
Tom and Tim are travelling towards Glasgow, but leave at different times. If Tim overtakes Tom, how fast is he travelling?

Three of a Kind

KS 2 & 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 16 - 2013
How long is it between 5:55 and the next time all three digits on a digital clock are the same?

Decimal Clock

KS 2 & 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 51 - 2013
A decimal clock is started at midnight. What time would it show at 6 o'clock in the morning?

Wiggly Conversions

KS 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 42 - 2011
Four wiggles equal three woggles. Two woggles equal five waggles. Six waggles equal one wuggle. Using these, can you work out which of four values is the smallest?

Hiking the Hill

KS 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 22 - 2011
Sarah's average speed for a journey was 2 mph, and her return average speed was 4 mph. What is her average speed for the whole journey?

Petrol Prices

KS 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 28 - 2009
How much does $u$ litres of unleaded cost in terms of the cost per litre of 4 star petrol?

Overbearing

KS 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 33 - 2009
In a village the pub, church and school are at different lengths and bearings from each other. What is the bearing of the school from the church?

Tummy Ache

KS 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 6 - 2012
Timmy, Tammy and Tommy all go to the doctors. In what order do they arrive at the surgery?

Walking in the Mountains

KS 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 5 - 2010
Heidi and Peter are walking through the mountains. They pass two signs which say how far away their destination is, so can you work out how long it will take them to get there?

Measured Upside Down

KS 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 49 - 2008
Baby can't stand up yet, so we measure her upside down. Can you use our measurements to work out how much Baby has grown in her first year?

Travelling by Train

KS 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 27 - 2016
Stephen leaves Middlesborough by train at 09:00. The train travels the first 27km at 96km/h. It then stops at Darlington for 3 minutes, before travelling the remaining 29km to Durham at 96km/h. At what time does Stephen arrive at Durham?

Roman Distances

KS 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 9 - 2009
Marcus' atrium was a square with each side 50 pedes long. How many times did Marcus have to walk round his atrium to complete his daily exercise of 8 stadia?

Refuelling

KS 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 12 - 2009
A car can go r miles on s gallons of petrol. How many gallons of petrol would it need for a journey of t miles?

Thunder and Lightning

KS 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 20 - 2009
How far away was the lightning if the flash and the thunderclap were 6 seconds apart?

Bike Shop

KS 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 8 - 2013
If I walk to the bike shop, but then cycle back, what is my average speed?

Revolutions

KS 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 30 - 2006
Jack and Jill run at different speeds in opposite directions around the maypole. How many times do they pass in the first minute?

Don't Be Late

KS 3 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 31 - 2010
Mary is driving to Birmingham Airport. Using her average speed for the entire journey, find how long her journey took.

Flying Down Under

KS 3 & 4 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 53 - 2009
Sydney flew to Melbourne, Australia. What time was it in Melbourne when Sydney's flight arrived?

Turbo Tortoise

KS 3 & 4 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 40 - 2007
Harriet Hare and Turbo Tortoise want to cross the finish line together on their 12 mile race.... What time should Harriet set off?

London Eye

KS 3 & 4 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 18 - 2014
The 80 spokes of the giant wheel The London Eye are made from 4 miles of cable. What is the approximate circumference of the wheel?

Team Bus

KS 3 & 4 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 11 - 2006
If the team bus travels for 2 hours at 60 miles per hour, how many kilometres does it travel?

Dean's Mountain

KS 3 & 4 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 20 - 2016
Dean runs up a mountain road at 8 km per hour. It takes him one hour to get to the top. He runs down the same mountain at 12 km per hour. How long does it take him to run down the mountain?

Platinum Puzzle

KS 3 & 4 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 29 - 2007
What is the approximate total volume of platinum that has ever been produced?

Tyneside Average Speed

KS 4 Short Challenge Level:

Weekly Problem 12 - 2006
A van travels from Newcastle to South Shields at 30mph and returns at 40mph. What is its average speed?