Chapter 5 of 8

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ICSE Class 3 Mathematics★ 7-10 marks in Class 3 Mathematics; length, mass, capacity, time, and money

Measurement — Length, Mass, Capacity, Time, and Money

Learn about MEASUREMENT — length (m, cm, km), mass (kg, g), capacity (L, mL). Read TIME on a clock. Understand AM/PM. Work with MONEY — rupees and paise. ICSE Class 3 Mathematics.

⏱ 10 min readEasy difficulty✓ Free · NCERT-aligned

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By the end of this chapter you'll be able to…

1Use units of length (m, cm, km), mass (kg, g), and capacity (L, mL)
2Convert between bigger and smaller units
3Read clock time, including AM and PM
4Work with rupees and paise
5Solve measurement and money word problems

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Why this chapter matters

Measurement connects maths to daily life: measuring length, weighing things, pouring liquids, reading clocks, and handling money. Learning the standard units and how to convert between them makes children confident with real-world quantities.

Before you start — revise these

A 5-minute refresher here will save you 30 minutes of confusion below.

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Class 3 Mathematics: Multiplication and division

Multiplying and dividing by 100 and 1000 for conversions

Measurement — Length, Mass, Capacity, Time, and Money

1. Length

Units of Length:

Metre (m) — height of a door.
Centimetre (cm) — length of a pencil.
Kilometre (km) — distance between two cities.

Conversions:

From	To	How
m → cm	Multiply by 100	2 m = 200 cm
cm → m	Divide by 100	300 cm = 3 m
km → m	Multiply by 1000	3 km = 3000 m

Using a Ruler:

'A ruler is 15 cm or 30 cm long. Place the START (0 mark) at one end of the object. Read the number at the OTHER end.'

Adding Lengths:

3 m 50 cm + 2 m 30 cm = 5 m 80 cm

Subtracting Lengths:

5 m 80 cm - 2 m 30 cm = 3 m 50 cm

2. Mass (Weight)

Units of Mass:

Kilogram (kg) — a bag of rice, a watermelon.
Gram (g) — a pencil, a chocolate.

Conversions:

From	To	How	Example
kg → g	Multiply by 1000	2 kg = 2000 g
g → kg	Divide by 1000	5000 g = 5 kg

Comparing Mass:

A football is HEAVIER than a tennis ball.
An elephant is HEAVIER than a horse.

'1 kg = 1000 g. KILO means THOUSAND.'

3. Capacity

Units of Capacity:

Litre (L) — a bottle of water, a jug of milk.
Millilitre (mL) — a spoon of medicine.

Conversions:

From	To	How	Example
L → mL	Multiply by 1000	2 L = 2000 mL
mL → L	Divide by 1000	3000 mL = 3 L

Common Examples:

A glass of water ≈ 200 mL
A water bottle ≈ 1 L
A bucket ≈ 10 L

4. Time

Reading the Clock:

Time	How to Read
3:00	Three o'clock — hour hand at 3, minute hand at 12
3:30	Half past three — hour hand between 3 and 4, minute hand at 6
3:15	Quarter past three — hour hand past 3, minute hand at 3
3:45	Quarter to four — hour hand near 4, minute hand at 9

AM and PM:

AM: Morning (from midnight to noon).
PM: Afternoon and evening (from noon to midnight).

'12:00 PM is NOON (lunchtime). 12:00 AM is MIDNIGHT (sleeping time).'

Conversions:

From	To	How
Hours → minutes	× 60	2 hours = 120 min
Minutes → seconds	× 60	5 min = 300 s
Days → hours	× 24	3 days = 72 hours

5. Money (Rupees and Paise)

Key Facts:

1 Rupee = 100 Paise.
Rupee symbol: Rs. or ₹.
Paise symbol: p.

Coins and Notes:

Coins	Notes
50 paise, Re. 1, Rs. 2, Rs. 5, Rs. 10	Rs. 10, Rs. 20, Rs. 50, Rs. 100, Rs. 200, Rs. 500

Converting:

Paise to Rupees:

100 paise = Re. 1
250 paise = Rs. 2.50
75 paise = Re. 0.75

Rupees to Paise:

Rs. 5 = 500 paise
Rs. 10.50 = 1050 paise

Adding Money:

Rs. 45.50 + Rs. 23.25 = Rs. 68.75

Subtracting Money:

Rs. 100 - Rs. 45.75 = Rs. 54.25

Word Problem:

Riya has Rs. 50. She buys a notebook for Rs. 25.50. How much money does she have left?

Solution: Rs. 50.00 - Rs. 25.50 = Rs. 24.50

6. Common Mistakes

Wrong conversion: 'When going from m to cm, MULTIPLY by 100. When going from cm to m, DIVIDE by 100. Remember the direction!'
Adding different units without converting: '5 m + 30 cm = 5 m 30 cm (not 35 m or 530 m). Write it as 5.30 m.'
Confusing AM and PM: '8:00 AM is morning (school time). 8:00 PM is night (after dinner).'
Paise confusion: '75 paise is Re. 0.75, NOT Rs. 75. 100 paise make 1 rupee.'

7. Key Facts to Remember

'1 m = 100 cm, 1 km = 1000 m.'
'1 kg = 1000 g, 1 L = 1000 mL.'
'1 hour = 60 minutes, 1 day = 24 hours.'
'1 Rupee = 100 Paise.'
'Bigger to smaller → MULTIPLY. Smaller to bigger → DIVIDE.'

8. Self-Test

Q1: Convert: (a) 3 m = ? cm (b) 400 cm = ? m (c) 2 km = ? m

Q2: Convert: (a) 4 kg = ? g (b) 3 L = ? mL

Q3: Add: 4 m 25 cm + 2 m 40 cm

Q4: What time is half past four?

Q5: Convert to rupees: (a) 200 paise (b) 350 paise

Q6: Riya has a Rs. 100 note. She spends Rs. 65.75. How much is left?

Q7: How many minutes are there in 3 hours?

Q8: Which is heavier — 2 kg of cotton or 2 kg of iron? Why?

Answers:

A1: (a) 300 cm (b) 4 m (c) 2000 m A2: (a) 4000 g (b) 3000 mL A3: 6 m 65 cm A4: 4:30 A5: (a) Rs. 2 (b) Rs. 3.50 A6: Rs. 100 - Rs. 65.75 = Rs. 34.25 A7: 3 × 60 = 180 minutes A8: Both are the SAME (2 kg each). Weight is weight regardless of material.

Key formulas & results

Everything you need to memorise, in one card. Screenshot this for revision.

Unit conversions

1 m = 100 cm; 1 km = 1000 m; 1 kg = 1000 g; 1 L = 1000 mL

Bigger to smaller: multiply. Smaller to bigger: divide.

Time and money

1 hour = 60 minutes; 1 day = 24 hours; 1 rupee = 100 paise

AM is before noon, PM is after noon.

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Common mistakes & fixes

These are the exact errors that cost students marks in board exams. Read them once, save yourself the trouble.

WATCH OUT

✗ Converting in the wrong direction

✓ Multiply when going from a bigger unit to a smaller one; divide when going the other way.

WATCH OUT

✗ Adding different units without converting

✓ 5 m + 30 cm is 5 m 30 cm, not 35; keep the units separate or convert first.

WATCH OUT

✗ Mixing up AM and PM

✓ 8:00 AM is morning; 8:00 PM is night.

NCERT exercises (with solutions)

Every NCERT exercise from this chapter — what it covers and how many questions to expect.

Length, mass, capacity

Conversions and adding/subtracting measurements

Questions

Time and money

Reading clocks, AM/PM, and rupee-paise problems

Questions

Practice problems

Try each one yourself before tapping "Show solution". Active recall > rereading.

Q1EASY· Length

Convert 3 m to centimetres.

▶ Show solution

3 x 100 = 300 cm.

Q2EASY· Time

How many minutes are there in 3 hours?

▶ Show solution

3 x 60 = 180 minutes.

Q3MEDIUM· Money

Riya has a Rs 100 note and spends Rs 65.75. How much is left?

▶ Show solution

Rs 100 - Rs 65.75 = Rs 34.25.

Q4EASY· Mass

Convert 4 kg to grams.

▶ Show solution

4 x 1000 = 4000 g.

5-minute revision

The whole chapter, distilled. Read this the night before the exam.

•1 m = 100 cm; 1 km = 1000 m.
•1 kg = 1000 g; 1 L = 1000 mL.
•1 hour = 60 minutes; 1 day = 24 hours.
•1 rupee = 100 paise.
•Bigger to smaller unit: multiply; smaller to bigger: divide.
•AM is midnight to noon; PM is noon to midnight.
•Keep the same unit before adding or subtracting.

ICSE marks blueprint

Where the marks come from in this chapter — so you can plan your prep.

Typical chapter weightage: 7-10 marks, depending on the school paper

Question type	Marks each	Typical count	What it tests
Conversions / Computation	4-5	2-3	Length, mass, capacity, and time
Money / Word problems	3-5	2	Rupee-paise and real-life problems

Prep strategy

Memorise the key conversions
Decide multiply or divide before converting
Practise reading times on a clock face
Add and subtract money keeping the decimal point aligned

Where this shows up in the real world

This chapter isn't just an exam topic — it lives in the world around you.

Shopping

Buying by weight or volume and paying money uses measurement.

Daily routine

Reading clocks helps us follow a timetable and be punctual.

Cooking and travel

Recipes and journeys use grams, millilitres, and kilometres.

Exam strategy

Battle-tested tips from teachers and toppers for this chapter.

Write the conversion rule before solving
Keep units consistent when adding
Mark AM or PM clearly for time answers
Align the decimal point in money sums

Going beyond the textbook

For olympiad aspirants and curious learners — topics that build on this chapter.

Plan a day's timetable using AM and PM correctly.
Work out the total cost of a small shopping list in rupees and paise.

Where else this chapter is tested

CBSE board isn't the only one — other exams test this chapter too.

ICSE Class 3 School ExamHigh

Maths Olympiad / IMO (junior)Medium

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Questions students ask

The real ones — pulled from the Q&A community and tutor sessions.

It depends on whether you are going to a smaller unit or a bigger unit. When you change a bigger unit into a smaller one, like metres into centimetres, you multiply, because it takes more small units to make the same length (3 m = 3 x 100 = 300 cm). When you change a smaller unit into a bigger one, like grams into kilograms, you divide (5000 g = 5000 / 1000 = 5 kg). A helpful clue is that the number gets bigger when you move to smaller units.

We split the 24 hours of a day into two halves of 12 hours each. AM covers the time from midnight (12:00 AM) up to just before noon, so morning hours like 8:00 AM are in this half. PM covers the time from noon (12:00 PM) up to just before midnight, so afternoon and evening hours like 8:00 PM are in this half. Saying AM or PM makes it clear whether you mean morning or evening.

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