Measuring in litres and millilitres
A聽litre聽is much more than a millilitre.
1 litre = 1000 millilitres
We shorten聽litres听迟辞听鈥l鈥 and we can shorten millilitres to 'ml'.
So we might also say:
1 l = 1000 ml
Capacity and volume
After pouring 2l of juice into this jug the jug is half full.
The volume of juice in the jug is 2l because that is how much liquid is in the container.
The capacity of the jug is 4l because that is how much the jug can contain.
The capacity of this glass is smaller than the jug.
The glass holds less than 1 litre so we measure the liquid in this glass in millilitres.
The capacity of the glass is 250ml and the volume of juice in the glass is 200ml.
Remember
- Capacity聽is the amount of liquid a container can hold.
- Volume聽is how much liquid is in the container.
We can measure in both millilitres and litres.
Example 1
What is the capacity of this cube in litres?
What is the volume of the cube?
V = L x W x HsoV = 10cm x 10cm x 10cm
V = 1000cm3
What is the capacity of the cube?
We know that 1cm3 = 1ml.
We also know that the volume of this cube is 1000cm3 so this means that this cube will hold 1000ml of liquid.
1000 millilitres = 1 litre so the capacity of this cube in litres = 1L.
Activities
Activity 1
What's left in the house?
Find as many containers in your kitchen as you can that are holding liquids, such as a bottle of milk or squash.
Check how much liquid they hold when they are full (you should be able to find this on the packaging.) Estimate how much liquid is left in each container.
If possible, use a measuring jug for each to check your estimates.
Activity 2
Drinks time
Using a measuring jug, make yourself a drink. For example, you could use the recipe below:
- 陆 litre orange juice
- 50 ml cranberry juice
- 200 ml water
- 5 ml lemon juice
Why not adapt this recipe to use the drinks you have at home?
Quiz
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More on Area and volume
Find out more by working through a topic
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