What is the Weight of Objects in Your Classroom? Math Investigation

This open-ended mathematics investigation has been designed to deepen students’ understanding of mass / weight.

In this investigation, the principal needs to buy new shelves for the classroom. To make sure she buys the right shelves, she needs to know the mass of the objects that will go on them. Unfortunately, the measuring equipment has been lost, so the mass of each objects will need to be measured using balance scales and informal units.

This teaching resource includes:

• teacher notes, detailing a range of important information about the investigation
• a detailed description of the investigation for students, including step-by-step instructions
• collecting and recording data worksheet
• reflection questions.

Differentiate this Mass Math Investigation

Implementing student-led project work can be challenging, so it’s important to cater to individual learning needs. Before delving into this project with your class, check out our recommendations for how to keep your high-flyers engaged and on track to succeed.

• Supporting less-confident students by altering the number of objects they need to record the weight of and providing them with simple objects to weight.
• Extending students – more capable students could be encouraged to experiment with or investigate different informal units of measurement and rate their effectiveness.

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