Measurement (length): Whale Song
The Problem
In an area of the Atlantic Ocean, seven humpback whales (named A – G) are communicating with each other in pairs. You can see their different locations (marked with an x) on the ocean map opposite. You’ll notice that there is a bar scale at the bottom of the map that can be used to calculate how far the whales are apart.
- How many pairs of whales are communicating across a distance that is less than 1 km?
- How many pairs of whales are communicating across a distance that is greater than 1 km but less than 2 km?
- How many pairs of whales are communicating across a distance that is greater than 2 km?
Did you know?
Humpback whales have some of the longest migrations of any mammal with some populations swimming 8,047 km between breeding and feeding grounds.
Visualising the Problem and Getting Started
Which two whales are communicating across the shortest distance? What could this distance be in kilometres? How do you know?
Which two whales are communicating across the greatest distance? What could this distance be in kilometres? How do you know?
