Last reviewed: 25 October 2026
Measurement questions are where Mathematics meets everyday life: bus timetables, shopping, cooking and travelling. They are also where Grade 6 learners lose marks through unit mistakes rather than poor arithmetic. This guide covers the conversions to know by heart and a reliable method for any word problem. Time and money are both Measurement sub-strands in KICD’s Grade 6 Mathematics curriculum design.
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A Four-Step Method for Word Problems
- Read twice. First for the story, then underline the numbers and the question.
- Check units. Are all the amounts in the same unit? If not, convert first.
- Choose the operation. “Altogether” usually means add, “how much more” means subtract, “each” often means multiply or divide.
- Answer the question asked and write the unit.
Time and the 24-Hour Clock
There are 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week and 12 months in a year. A year has 365 days, or 366 in a leap year.
The 24-hour clock counts hours from midnight. Morning times stay the same (7.30 am is 0730 h). For afternoon and evening times, add 12 to the hour: 3.45 pm is 1545 h and 10.15 pm is 2215 h. Midnight is 0000 h.
Finding a duration: count up in steps. A bus leaves Nairobi at 0845 h and arrives in Nakuru at 1120 h. From 0845 to 0900 is 15 minutes, 0900 to 1100 is 2 hours, 1100 to 1120 is 20 minutes. Total: 2 hours 35 minutes. Avoid subtracting times like ordinary numbers (1120 − 0845 = 275 is not 2 hours 75 minutes).
Money
Kenyan money is in shillings and cents, with 100 cents in a shilling. Write money with two decimal places when there are cents: KSh 45.50. Typical questions involve totals, change, cost per item and profit or loss.
- A trader buys 12 mangoes for KSh 240 and sells each at KSh 30. Cost per mango is KSh 20, so the profit per mango is KSh 10 and on all 12 it is KSh 120.
- Akinyi has KSh 500. She buys 2 kg of sugar at KSh 160 per kg. Her change is 500 − 320 = KSh 180.
Length
10 millimetres = 1 centimetre, 100 cm = 1 metre, 1,000 m = 1 kilometre. To change a large unit to a smaller one, multiply; to change a small unit to a larger one, divide. So 3.4 km = 3,400 m and 250 cm = 2.5 m. A runner who does 4 laps of a 400 m track covers 1,600 m, or 1.6 km.
Mass
1,000 grams = 1 kilogram and 1,000 kg = 1 tonne. A 2 kg packet of flour holds 2,000 g. If a recipe needs 250 g of flour per loaf, the packet makes 8 loaves. A lorry carrying 120 bags of 50 kg carries 6,000 kg, which is 6 tonnes.
Capacity
1,000 millilitres = 1 litre. A 1.5 litre bottle holds 1,500 ml. How many 300 ml glasses can it fill? 1,500 ÷ 300 = 5. A 20 litre jerrican fills 40 bottles of 500 ml.
Mixed Units in One Question
Harder questions combine units. “A tank holds 2,400 litres. A tap fills it at 20 litres per minute. How long does it take?” 2,400 ÷ 20 = 120 minutes, which is 2 hours. Always give the answer in the unit the question asks for; if it wants hours, convert the minutes.
Common Mistakes to Watch
- Treating 1 hour as 100 minutes when subtracting times.
- Forgetting to add 12 for pm times on the 24-hour clock.
- Multiplying instead of dividing when converting to a larger unit.
- Leaving out the unit in the final answer.
Practice Ideas at Home
Everyday moments are the best revision: ask your child how long a journey took, how much change you should get, or how many cups a jug holds. Then use the free daily questions on the exam countdown and the What to Revise report to target gaps. Related guides: decimals and percentages and area and perimeter. Exam-style papers with worked answers are in the Grade 6 Mathematics papers, fully unlocked with the Monthly Pass (KSh 500 by M-Pesa).
Ten-minute check: try the free Grade 6 CBC Challenge. It has 10 questions, each marked on the spot with the working, and it shows which topics to practise next.