NCERT Class 2 Maths (Joyful Mathematics) · Chapter 7

Rani’s Gift

Measuring length with handspans, blocks, and other things, comparing weights (heavier and lighter), and measuring how much a container holds.

📌 What you’ll learn in this chapter
  • Measuring length with handspans, pencils, and blocks
  • Why different people get different measurements
  • Longest and shortest paths
  • Heavier, lighter, heaviest, and lightest
  • How much water a bottle or glass can hold

✋ Let’s Begin: The Mixed-up Table

Grandpa tells Neha, “Make me a shelf 6 handspans long.” Neha measures with her small hand. When Grandpa checks it with his big hand, it’s only 4 handspans! 😮

Who is right? Both of them! Their hands are different sizes. That’s why we need to use the same hand (or the same stick) every time.

📏 Part 1: Measuring Length

  • We can measure with a handspan, a footstep, a pencil, an eraser, or blocks.
  • A small unit gives a big number. A big unit gives a small number.
  • A table is 12 pencils long but only 6 books long.
💡 Remember To compare measurements fairly, everyone must use the same unit. That’s why we use a ruler or a measuring tape.

⚖️ Part 2: Heavy and Light

  • On a balance, the heavier side goes down. The lighter side goes up.
  • If both sides are level, the weights are equal.
  • Big doesn’t always mean heavy! A big balloon is lighter than a small stone.
⚠️ Common mistake Thinking a bag of cotton is heavier than a bag of sand because it looks bigger. ❌ Sand is much heavier than the same bag of cotton.

🥛 Part 3: How Much Does It Hold?

A jug fills 5 glasses and a bottle fills 3 glasses. So the jug holds more water.

✏️ Practice Time

Try these on your own first, then check your answer below each question.

Q1. A book is 5 erasers long. Another book is 8 erasers long. Which is longer?
✅ AnswerThe book that is 8 erasers long.
Q2. A balance has a lemon on one side and a brick on the other. Which side goes down?
✅ AnswerThe brick side (it is heavier).
Q3. 1 bucket fills 10 mugs. How many mugs do 2 buckets fill?
✅ Answer20 mugs

📘 NCERT Textbook Activity Help

Hints and answers for the activities in the textbook, page by page. Try each one yourself before looking at the answer!

Pages 71–72 · Rani’s bed

The Mantri’s solution

✅ AnswerThe carpenter’s hand was bigger than the Raja’s, so the bed was too short for the Raja (8 handspans). The Mantri’s hand was smaller, so he got 14. The Mantri’s solution: use the Raja’s own handspan (or a stick of fixed length) so everyone measures the same way.
Desk, blackboard, window: first guess (estimate), then measure with your textbook. Answers will differ for each class.
Page 73 · Paths

Shortest and longest

✅ AnswerKavita should take the path with the fewest turns and bends, which is the most straight path to school. The longest path from A to B is the one with the most curves and zig-zags. The shortest path is a straight line from A to B. Check with a thread: lay it along each path and compare the thread lengths.
Page 74 · How many blocks?

Heights of toys

✅ AnswerCount the blocks next to each toy’s head. The tower has 10 blocks.
A. The giraffe is about 9 blocks tall · B. The camel is 7 blocks tall · C. The monkey is about 2 blocks tall · D. The elephant is about 6 blocks tall (don’t count the box it’s standing on). Your book’s picture may give a slightly different count, so trust your own careful counting.
Page 75 · Your hand

Trace and measure

✅ AnswerTrace your hand on the lines and count how many lines it covers. Each child’s answer is different. Project: measure a wall, a bed, and a door with the same tool each time and write the numbers.
Pages 76–79 · Pumpkin’s chaupal and balances

Heavier and lighter

✅ AnswerThe pumpkin says “I am the most heavy (heaviest)”. A watermelon and a pumpkin can be about the same, so it depends on their size. Weigh them to be sure!
Sample answers: B. Capsicum is lighter than pumpkin · C. Pumpkin is heavier than cauliflower · D. Carrot is lighter than bottle gourd · E. Pumpkin is the heaviest of all · F. The smallest vegetable (like a chilli or carrot) is the lightest of all.
Circle the heaviest: the biggest, solid object in each row. Circle the lightest: the smallest or feather-light one.
Balance: the side with the heavier fruit or vegetable goes down, so mark it H. The side that goes up is L.
Bags: the bag of sand is heavier than the bag of dry leaves.
Page 80 · Fruits in the park

See-saw

✅ AnswerA. The see-saw is level with 6 mangoes (2 on top, 4 below), so 6 mangoes balance the watermelon.
B. 1 coconut = 2 mangoes. 6 mangoes = 2 + 2 + 2, so 3 coconuts balance the watermelon.
Pages 81–82 · Nimbu pani and bottles

Three glasses

✅ AnswerFor 3 glasses, use everything 3 times: Water 3 glasses · Sugar 3 spoons · Lemon juice 6 spoons · Salt 3 pinches
Bottles: fill your bottle using a glass and count. Compare with your friends’ counts: the same number = equal, a smaller number = less, a bigger number = more.

👨‍👩‍👧 Tips for Parents

  • Measure the bed with your handspan and then with your child’s. Talk about why they are different.
  • Hold two fruits and ask, “Which is heavier?” Then check on a kitchen scale.
  • Count how many cups fill a water bottle.
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