Measurement (time): Voracious Vole
The Problem
Vincent, the water vole, was enjoying eating the new, high quality grass that had been planted in the Glasgow park that he now called home. It took Vincent 30 seconds to eat a single blade of grass.
How many blades of grass do think Vincent (and water voles like him) can eat in an hour?
If you laid out all the blades of grass that Vincent ate in a long line, how long would this line be?
Did you know?
In addition to eating grass, water voles will also eat bark, roots, seeds and berries. Like squirrels, water voles are known to store food underground and then dig it up during the winter (when food is in short supply).
Visualising the Problem and Getting Started
To find out how many blades of grass Vincent can eat, which of the following time related facts do you need to know?
1) There are 365 days in a regular year.
2) There are 60 seconds in a minute.
3) There are 7 days in a week.
4) There are 60 minutes in an hour.
5) There are 30 days in September.