Capacity—Measuring Liquid

By Leora Itzhaki

Customary Capacity

• There are 4 main units of customary capacity!

• Gallons—Gal• Quarts—Qt• Pints—Pt• Cups--C

Gallonsiant

Gallons are used to measure large amounts.

Quarts

Here is a quart of milk.

Pints

Mason and Jelly Jars are about a pint.

Cups

Conversions

Use the Big G!!

Draw the G for Gallon.

Add 4 Q’s for Quarts.

Go P P at CCs…P’s for Pints, C’s for Cups

C

C

…Then put 2 of these in each quart!

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

CC

C

C

C

C

CC

C

C

C

Which is more: 3 qt or 4 pt?

When I look at the Big G, I see that 4 pt is the same as 2 qt.

That means that 3 qt is more than 4 pt.

Try this one:

Ms. Itzhaki went to the store to buy 6 quarts of milk. They were out of quarts! She had to get pints instead. How many pints did she need to bring home the same amount of milk?

Click the button to see the Big G.

Since 6 qt = 12 pt, she needed to buy 12 pt!

Metric Capacity

There are 2 main units of metric capacity.

Liters--L Milliliters--mL

Litersarge We measure large things in liters.

A Milliliter is about a drop.

A drop of water.

An eyedropper of medicine.

Conversions in Metric!1,000 mL = 1 L

When converting L to mL, put 3 zeros in place of the L--that’s multiplying by 1,000.

2 L = ___________ mL000

So, 2 L = 2,000 mL

4 L = _______________ mL000

So, 4 L = 4,000 mL

__________ mL = 2 L 000

So, 2,000 mL = 2 L

Ms. Itzhaki’s water cooler holds 5,000 mL of Kool-Aid. She has 2 bottles of Kool-Aid. Each bottle holds 2 L. Will the Kool-Aid fit in her water cooler?

Step One: Draw the picture to show what she has.

2 L 2 L = 4L

Step Two: Convert to the lower unit--mL.

4 L = _______ mL…

000

+

so 4 L = 4,000 mL

Ms. Itzhaki’s water cooler holds 5,000 mL of Kool-Aid. She has 2 bottles of Kool-Aid. Each bottle holds 2 L. Will the Kool-Aid fit in her water cooler?

Step Three: Answer the Question.

YES, since she has 4,000 mL of water, it will fit in her 5,000 mL container!

Congratulations!

You are now…