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Estimations

Cub Scouts · Adventure, Elective

Printable worksheet (PDF)

Estimations teaches you to make smart guesses without tools. You'll estimate amounts of food, time, height, and distance, then check how close you got. It's a handy skill for camping and everyday life.

Why it's worth it

Good estimators make better campers, cooks, and hikers: how much rice for six Scouts, how much daylight is left, how tall is that tree, how far to camp? You'll learn tricks that use your hands, your steps, and the sun instead of tools, then check how close you got. It feels a little like having a superpower.

Start this week

  1. Pour what you think is one cup of cereal into a bowl, then measure to check.
  2. Count your steps walking 100 feet with your adult to find your pace.
  3. Guess the time right now without looking, then check a clock.

Stay safe

  • Never look straight at the sun. Look at your fingers and the horizon instead.

Requirements · 4

Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab).

  1. Requirement 1

    Estimate food measurements

    Tip: Guess a cup of rice or a tablespoon of sugar by eye, then measure to check.

    For example: Guess a cup of rice, a tablespoon of peanut butter, and a teaspoon of salt by eye. Then measure each one. Try again and see if you get closer. Next, guess how much rice your whole patrol would eat at camp.

  2. Requirement 2

    Estimate the time of day

    Tip: Use the sun's position or shadows to guess the time, then check a clock.

    For example: Before sunset, hold your arm out with fingers sideways under the sun. Each finger between the sun and the horizon is roughly 15 minutes of daylight left. Check your guess against the actual sunset time.

  3. Requirement 3

    Estimate how tall a distant object is

    Tip: Try the stick method or compare to a person's height to estimate a tree or flagpole.

    For example: Stick method: hold a stick straight up at arm's length so the part above your hand equals the distance from your eye to your hand. Walk back until the stick covers the whole tree. Your distance from the tree is about its height.

  4. Requirement 4

    Estimate the distance between two points

    Tip: Count your steps between two points and use your pace to guess the distance.

    For example: If your pace is 2 steps for 5 feet, and you count 80 steps between two trees, that's about 200 feet. Then check with a tape measure or map and see how close you got.

Talk about it together

  • Which estimate were you best at, and which surprised you?
  • How did practice change how close you got?
  • When could estimating help on a campout?
  • Why do you think people sometimes guess too high or too low?

Helpful reads

For leaders & parents

  • Turn each estimate into a game where scouts guess and then measure.
  • Show a couple of methods so scouts can choose what works for them.

People & places that can help

Pairs well with

Counts toward

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Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.