Arithmetic Grade Four

Lesson One hundred and forty-seven: METRIC VOLUME and WEIGHT

English units for volume include ounces, cups, pints, quarts, and gallons. Metric units for volume include milliliters (mL) and liters (L) and others which are named the same way as is the case with the metric units for length. You don't normally hear people speak of kiloliters or centiliters, it's usually milliliters or liters. 


          1000 mL = 1 L
Most commonly you will see bottled water labeled with metric units for volume. For instance, a 20 ounce bottle (1.25 pints) is equivalent to 591 mL. A 12 ounce can of soda is equivalent to 355 mL. In general it is best to think of a liter as being pretty close to the same amount as a quart. The exact numbers are like this: 
 
     1 liter = 33.8 ounces (which is 1.8 ounces over a quart)
     1 quart = 945.6 mL (which is 54.4 mL short of a full liter)
In most countries gas is sold by the liter (in the United States gas is usually sold by the gallon). So, a good working knowledge of milliliters and liters might be a good thing to have if you plan on doing any traveling outside of the United States. Also metric units of volume are commonly used in sciences such as chemistry and biology.

Here are some sample conversion problems: 


    1) Convert 17 liters into milliliters.

    SOLUTION: To convert liters to milliliters multiply by 1000.

    ANSWER: 17 L x 1000 = 17000 mL.

    2) Convert 4000 milliliters to liters.

    SOLUTION: To convert milliliters to liters divide by 1000.

    ANSWER: 4000 mL / 1000 = 4 L.

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