Is lenth the Longest measurement of a shape, or is it a horizontal measurement?

[Melora in NC]

Ds is working on problems in Primary Mathematics 3B, and I am not sure whether length is necessarily horizontal and width side to side, or whether length is just the measurement of the longest side. I googled it and came up with this site (http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/57801.html) , which says that the question does not have a clear answer. What do you think?

Wait! Don't answer yet! I Meant to ask, is Length horizontal and width vertical. Just reverse everything. Ack!

[KAR120C]

Ds is working on problems in Primary Mathematics 3B, and I am not sure whether length is necessarily horizontal and width side to side, or whether length is just the measurement of the longest side. I googled it and came up with this site (http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/57801.html) , which says that the question does not have a clear answer. What do you think?

Wait! Don't answer yet! I Meant to ask, is Length horizontal and width vertical. Just reverse everything. Ack!
It seems to me that when we've had problems in Singapore that referred to "length", it meant the longer direction. I wouldn't mark it wrong if switching them changed his answer, but it seems that that is what they mean...

[chai]

My dh and I have argued about this!

I think of length as the longest side; he doesn't. Neither one of us has won the argument. :rolleyes:

[Dana in OR]

I've always heard it described.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Final answer: Length means the long side. (Hence the name) Orientation has nothing to do with it (unless you're talking about furniture)

[Melora in NC]

Many thanks to all! I started to correct ds when he didn't show lenth as the horizontal length of the box, but then I thought maybe the longest distance made more sense.