Estimating Using Jelly Beans And Pebbles

Posted: May 18, 2020

We estimate a lot in life. Sometimes we don't even realize we are doing it! Your parents estimate every day- at the grocery store (how much will this cost?), while preparing meals (how much do I cook?) and when travelling (how long will it take to get where I'm going?). Soooo....it's a good idea for you to become a "top estimator" right now!! When we estimate we use the words ABOUT and APPROXIMATELY. To help you estimate, we sometimes use a REFERENT. When we learned to measure using cm, we used the width of our pinky finger as a referent. We looked at our pinky knowing it was ABOUT 1 cm wide. This helped us figure out the APPROXIMATE length of small items. In the above picture there are 2 jars of jelly beans. The small one is the referent. There are 50 jelly beans in it. This should help you estimate how many are in the large jar. Email your estimate to me. Closest estimate to the actual number gets the jar, and second place gets the referent. I'm waiting...... CHALLENGE: You will need a clear jar. Find some pebbles outside, and place 5 of them in the bottom of your jar. Estimate how many pebbles you will need to fill the jar. Find enough pebbles (around the same size) and fill your jar. How close was your estimate?