422 CHAPTER 7 The Metric System Units of Volume in the Metric System When a figure has only two dimensions—length and width—we can determine its area. When a figure has three dimensions—length, width, and height—we can determine its volume. The volume of an item can be considered the space occupied by the item. In the metric system, volume may be expressed in terms of liters or cubic meters, depending on what is being measured. Internationally, liter is spelled “litre.” The volume of liquids is expressed in liters. A liter is a little larger than a quart. Volumes measured with pints, quarts, or gallons are measured with liters in the metric system. A liter can be divided into 1000 equal parts, each of which is called a milliliter. Fig. 7.7 illustrates a graduated cylinder. In chemistry, 100 m and other metric graduated cylinders are often used. Milliliters are used to express the volume of very small amounts of liquid. Volumes measured with ounces are measured with milliliters. Drug dosages are often expressed in milliliters. An 8-oz cup will hold about 240 m of liquid. The kiloliter, 1000 liters, is used to represent the volume of large amounts of liquid. Tank trucks carrying gasoline to service stations hold about 10.5 k of gasoline. Cubic meters are used to express the volume of large amounts of solid, gaseous, and liquid material. The volume of a dump truck’s load of topsoil is measured in cubic meters. The volume of natural gas used to heat a house may soon be measured in cubic meters. Cubic kilometers are used to measure very large volumes like the amount of water in a large body of water. A liter is defined as a measure of volume equal to 1 cubic decimeter (1 1 dm ,3 = see Fig. 7.8) Since 1 decimeter is equal to 10 centimeters, 1 cubic decimeter is equal to 103 or 1000 cubic centimeters. So, 1 liter is equal to 1000 cubic centimeters. But 1 liter is also equal to 1000 milliliters. Therefore, 1 cubic centimeter is equal to 1 milliliter. Furthermore, a similar calculation can be performed to show that 1 cubic meter is equal to 1 kiloliter. Table 7.3 summarizes these relationships within the metric system. 1 liter = 1000 m, 1 dm3 = 1000 cm3 10 cm 1 dm 10 cm 1 dm 10 cm 1 dm 1000 ml 200 ml 0 ml 400 ml 600 ml 800 ml Figure 7.8 Figure 7.7 Table 7.3 Cubic Units Within the Metric System Volume in Cubic Units Volume in Liters 1 cm3 = 1 m 1 dm3 = 1 1 m3 = 1 k Example 6 Choosing an Appropriate Unit of Volume Determine which metric unit of volume you would use to measure the volume of the following. a) The water in Lake Tahoe b) A carton of milk DesignPrax/Shutterstock m Lake Tahoe Andrew Zarivny/Shutterstock
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NjM5ODQ=