Shoot, Measure, Score! 

Zoe is practicing her basketball shots. She wants to measure how far away she is from the net when she scores a basket. Can you help her measure to the nearest quarter of an inch?

You will measure using inches, and will measure to the nearest quarter of an inch! Zoe will put a line above the ruler, starting at 0. It is up to you to see where the line ends on the ruler. You will need to find the quarter-inch, half-inch, and three-quarter-inch lines. Then decide if the end of the line is closer to one of the whole numbers or to one of the fraction lines. Then, you will tell Zoe about how long the line is so that she knows how far away she was from the net. Are you ready to get started?

Zoe is ready to take her first shot. She made it! Before she can score, Zoe needs to know how far away she was from the net. Zoe drew this line to show the correct length. Here is a ruler. Zoe will make sure the line starts at 0. Where does the line end?

The line ends between 11 inches and 12 inches!

Here are the one-quarter-inch, one-half-inch, and three-quarter-inch lines between 11 and 12. Between which two smaller lines on the ruler does Zoe’s line end?

The line ends between the one-quarter-inch and one-half-inch lines! Which line is closer to the end of the line that Zoe drew?

The one-half-inch line! The line is about 11 and a half inches long. Zoe was 11 and a half inches away from the net when she shot her basket. She scores!

Zoe is going to back up a bit more and try again. She shoots. She makes the basket! Before she can score, Zoe needs to know how far away she was from the net. Here is the line to show how far away Zoe was. Zoe lined up the line with 0 on the left. Where does the line end on the right?

The line ends between the 23-inch and 24-inch lines on the ruler!

Here are the one-quarter-inch, one-half-inch, and three-quarter-inch lines between 23 and 24. Between which two smaller lines does Zoe’s line end?

The line ends between the one-half-inch and three-quarter-inch lines! Which line is closer to the end of the line that Zoe drew?

The three-quarter-inch line! The line is about 23 and three-quarter inches long. Zoe was 23 and three-quarter inches away from the net when she shot her basket. She scores again!

Thank you for helping Zoe measure how far away she was from the net to the nearest quarter of an inch! She can’t wait to play with her team!