Foot Span
2 Minutes
Foot span and pace measurement for kids explains how to measure distance with footsteps through a village story, in a short maths lesson in English.
- Two villagers searching for a new home after their village floods
- Placing feet without gaps to measure distance as foot span (kaladi)
- Walking with normal gaps between steps to measure pace (thapiti)
What this lesson teaches
Foot span and pace are body-based methods of measuring distance by counting foot steps along the ground. A foot span is measured by placing one foot directly after the other without any gap, while a pace is measured by taking ordinary walking steps with a proper space between them.
Measuring the distance
When two villagers set out from their flooded settlement of Maraor through the forest, they found a welcoming village named Basantapuri surrounded by flowers. Before returning to guide their people, they wondered how they could explain the exact distance between the two places. To solve this problem, they decided to measure the path as they walked back by counting their foot movements step by step.
Methods of foot measurement
- Foot span (kaladi) is measured by placing both feet one right after the other without any gap between them, counting each step in order.
- Pace (thapiti) is measured by walking continuously while leaving a proper gap between each step, counting the steps along the way.
- Both methods turn human steps into a counting system to find the total distance from one place to another.
Moving the community
The two travelers returned to Maraor and explained the measurements to their village chief so everyone could make the journey. To follow the path accurately, the group of villagers was split into two parts. Approximately one half of the individuals carefully followed along with the specific foot span measurement of the first traveler, while the other half followed the distinct pace measurement of the second traveler. This allowed the entire community to reach Basantapuri safely and move into new homes.
Key terms
- Foot span (kaladi) refers to the measurement of distance found by placing feet one after another with zero gap between them.
- Pace (thapiti) refers to the measurement of distance found by taking normal walking steps with a proper gap between each step.
- Distance is the physical length of the ground or path between two separate locations.