📏 Measurement - Capacity
Capacity is how much liquid a container can hold in total, while Volume is the amount of l
▶ Play Door 20Measurement - Capacity
Capacity and volume tell us how much liquid a container can hold. When you pour milk into a glass or fill a bucket with water for a bath, you are working with volume and capacity!
• Comparing Vessels Using Spatial Terms: Before using numbers, we can compare containers simply by looking at their sizes:
• Holds More: A larger container has a bigger capacity and can hold a greater amount of liquid (e.g., a large swimming pool or a water bucket).
• Holds Less: A smaller container has a tiny capacity and holds a smaller amount of liquid (e.g., a tiny spoon or a juice box).
• Introduction to Standard Metric Units: To measure liquids fairly and precisely across the world, we use two standard metric units:
• Millilitre (mL): A tiny standard unit used to measure very small amounts of liquid. A single raindrop, a small teardrop, or a single teaspoon holds about 1 to 5 mL.
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Worked example
Problem: A chef sets out ingredients to prepare a meal. Help them pick the best standard metric unit (mL or L) to measure: (a) The dose of liquid medicine on a tiny spoon, and (b) The total amount of water inside a large backyard fish tank.
- Analyze item (a): A spoon holds a tiny, miniature sip of liquid. It matches our small raindrop benchmark. Therefore, choose Millilitres (mL).
- Analyze item (b): A fish tank is a large, heavy glass container holding a massive amount of water. Measuring it in tiny single drops would be impossible. Therefore, choose Litres (L).
Answer: (a) Millilitres (mL), (b) Litres (L)