'Plausible Estimation' Estimates 
for a Million Tasks - Set #1

Malcolm Swan
Mathematics Education
University of Nottingham
Malcolm.Swan@nottingham.ac.uk

Jim Ridgway
School of Education
University of Durham
Jim.Ridgway@durham.ac.uk

The aim of this assessment is to provide the opportunity for you to:
•	develop a chain of reasoning that will enable you  to estimate quantities to an appropriate degree of accuracy
•	choose suitable units for your estimate
•	communicate the assumptions upon which your estimate is based.

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1. Breathing
How many days would it take you to breathe a million times?

Assumptions

	
Reasoning

	

2. Paper Clips
Suppose a chain is made from a million paper clips. How far will it stretch?
Choose suitable units for your answer.

Assumptions

	
Reasoning

	

3. The brick wall

Suppose you use a million household bricks to build a wall four feet high. How long would the wall be? 

Assumptions

	
Reasoning

	

4. The dripping faucet

A faucet drips a million times. How many buckets will it fill? 

Assumptions

	
Reasoning

	

5. Writing a million

How long would it take you to write out all the numbers, from one to a million?

Remember that some numbers have more digits than others! 

Assumptions

	
Reasoning