Change every length to one unit before multiplying, then check the answer's size makes sense.
Practice test 1 is free. No card needed.
Measurement questions are solved by putting every length in one unit and adding time in jumps to the next hour. Children in Year 7 now sit the exam in Year 8 , expected in June 2027.
Checked by the SelectiveReady team on 12 October 2026 · Updated 27 October 2026 · How we check facts
Independent. Not affiliated with the Victorian Department of Education or ACER.
A measurement question asks for a finish time, a volume or an area, and it may mix units on purpose. It sits in the Mathematics part, which shares a 60-minute sitting with Quantitative Reasoning.
ACER says the Maths part tests year-level maths knowledge and reasoning, and using maths in real-world contexts. Measurement is where those real-world contexts show most: films, planter boxes, trailers and gardens.
These three are our own, from easier to harder. Each one shows the answer and the working, so read them with your child.
As you read the working, check the units before the arithmetic. With a unit beside every number, the slips behind the wrong options show themselves.
A film starts at 7:35 pm and runs for 2 hours 48 minutes. At what time does it finish?
Answer: C
Answer: C
Add the hours, then the minutes. 7:35 pm plus 2 hours is 9:35 pm; 25 more minutes reaches 10:00 pm, and the other 23 minutes makes 10:23 pm. 9:23 pm comes from adding 35 + 48 = 83 minutes and dropping 60 of them without adding the extra hour.
Rosa is filling a planter box with potting mix. Inside, the box is a rectangular prism 1.2 m long, 40 cm wide and 250 mm deep. Potting mix is sold only in full 25-litre bags. How many bags must Rosa buy to fill the box? (1 litre = 1000 cm³)
Answer: B
Answer: B
Change every length to centimetres first: 120 cm, 40 cm and 25 cm. The volume is 120 × 40 × 25 = 120 000 cm³, which is 120 litres. 120 ÷ 25 = 4.8 bags, and only full bags are sold, so Rosa needs 5. 4 bags leaves the box short, 120 is the litres rather than the bags, and 48 comes from dividing by 100 instead of 1000.
Kai's trailer has a rectangular tray 2 m long and 1.5 m wide. He fills it level with mulch to a depth of 40 cm, then spreads all of the mulch evenly over a garden bed. The bed is a rectangle 6 m by 2.5 m, with a 2 m by 1.5 m rectangular pond in it that gets no mulch. How thick is the layer of mulch on the bed?
Answer: D
Answer: D
The tray holds 2 × 1.5 × 0.4 = 1.2 m³ of mulch. The mulched area is 6 × 2.5 − 2 × 1.5 = 12 m², so the layer is 1.2 ÷ 12 = 0.1 m, or 10 cm, thick. 8 cm forgets to leave out the pond, and 4 cm is how many times bigger the mulched area is than the tray floor, not a depth.
Decide the unit before doing any sum, because a centimetre mixed with a metre is the slip to guard against first. These steps are ours, not ACER's, and they come from the working above.
Change every length to the same unit before multiplying. Centimetres suit a box; metres suit a garden.
Add the hours first. Then jump to the next o'clock, and add the minutes that are left.
A quick drawing with the lengths on it shows what to multiply, and what to take away.
If something comes only in full bags, round up, even when the answer is just over a whole number.
A layer of mulch a metre thick, or a film that ends before it starts, means a slip somewhere.
In these questions, check the units and the last step before the arithmetic. Find which of these four slips is behind each wrong option, and practise its check.
Use a tape measure and a clock; that's all measurement practice needs.
Three worked questions show the method. Practice test 1 from our selective entry practice tests is free and shows whether it holds up in a timed sitting, with results by skill afterwards.
For more worked questions, see maths sample questions. For the whole part, see VIC selective entry mathematics.
Practice test 1 marks every answer and shows results by skill: what your child already does well and the three skills to work on next.
Practise for the real test
Practice test 1 is free. Then packs from A$109 for 12 months, or A$9 a week, per exam.