Date(s): Friday, January 16, 2009 / Topic: The ancient Egyptian measurement system
Grade Level: Grade 6 / Time(s): 15 minutes
Objective: To have students understand the history of the Egyptian Measurement system, and come to a deeper understanding of converting between modern measurement systems and Egyptian measurement systems.
Curriculum Expectations:
Math-Measurement: demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between estimated and precise measurements
-estimate, measure and record length using the metric measurement system
Assessment Strategies: Students will be able to figure out the equivalency of certain measurements by using converting strategies.
Accommodations and Modifications: Students will work in groups, and will have access to a virtual conversion tool to help them check their work in conversion
Resources:
-chart paper (enough for each group)
-markers for each group
-virtual converter (online) at
/ Introduction:
- have students sitting in table groups, make sure they have chart paper and a marker, one per table group
- tell students that they will be doing a measurement exercise, but they will not actually be using any rulers
- ask students to throw out ideas for what they could use as a standard unit for how they could measure various items in the class, (for example, hands, feet, pencils, books)
- tell students that we will be using our hands to measure the length of the table (or desk)
- model putting hand beside hand, to count how many hand spans it takes to measure the whole table
- ask students to record on the chart paper, all their names, and how many hand spans it took each person in their group to measure their desks
- ask groups to nominate one member of their group to bring up the chart paper and post it in front of the room
- point out similarities and discrepancies in the numbers
- explain that in ancient Egyptian times, they developed their units of measurement based on their body parts, just like we did
Middle:
- Go into the history of the Egyptian Measurement system:
- Earliest known standardized system of measurement is the Egyptian Royal Cubit.
- 2700 BCE – Egyptians introduced the earliest developed base ten numeration system
- There was no symbol for 0; just for numbers 1 to 9
- numerals were inscribed in hieroglyphic form on a royal mace dating to 3400 BCE
- Measurement system grew out of daily trade and government transactions
- Oldest mathematics text is the Moscow papyrus. It was discovered during the Middle Kingdom – 2000-1800 B.C.E.
- Rhind papyrus was discovered in 1650 B.C.E. Rhind papyrus is the largest surviving mathematical scroll at 5.2 metres long by 32 centimetres wide. Purchased by an antiquarian named Alexander Henry Rhind in 1858. The Rhind papyrus is where the remen is first found. Written in hieroglyphics. The author was Ahmes the Scribe.
- Ahmes wrote that he copied it from a papyrus written in about 1800 B.C.E.
- Contains 87 mathematical problems and a table of fractions
- Additive, base-10, hieroglyphic system
- Egyptian Royal Cubit – this unit of measurement was used from 2700 B.C.E.
- Remen
- Egyptians used mathematics in general in the administration of state and church affairs, to find volumes of granaries, areas of fields, to convert from one system of measures to another
- Decimal or base ten system for recording numbers with symbol
- Each symbol can be repeated up to nine times – i.e. the symbol for 10 can be repeated 9 times to represent a value
- Number represented by a set of symbols was found by adding the value of each symbol represented
- If the symbol for any value was written more than 4x, Egyptians wrote the symbols in two or more rows
- Remen and cubit
Talk about:
- An overview of what the cubit is, the different types and how cubits are used
- How the cubit and remen relates to our measurement systems now
- How body parts are used in measurement
- Briefly describe other units of measure, but primarily focus on measuring length
Conclusion:
-have students measure various items in the class using a metric ruler. For example, students can measure notebooks, water bottles, shoes, or anything else that is a reasonable length.
-using the online conversion site at students give the various measurement values that they found, and input the values into the converter.
-show students the equivalent length of various items in Egyptian royal cubits.