Session 9: Capacity Conversion – Metric Units and Customary Units

Measurement is a concept that appears all the time in everyday life. To measure something is to determine the size, amount, or degree of a quantity or object, using standard or non-standard units. Measurements can be made of physical quantities such as length, mass, time, temperature, electric current, and luminous intensity, among others.

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Measurement of Capacity

Capacity is the measurement of how much a container can hold or the amount of space inside a container. It can be used to measure how much liquid, gas, or solid material a container can hold. For example, capacity can be used to measure how much water a cup can hold or how much petrol a car tank can hold. Common units of capacity include litres, gallons, pints, quarts, and millilitres.

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Capacity Conversion

Converting capacities from one unit to another is known as capacity conversion. For example, litres can be converted to gallons, pints can be converted to quarts, and millilitres can be converted to fluid ounces.

In our daily lives, we encounter numerous values of capacity, such as the capacity of a fuel tank measured in litres or the capacity of a water bottle measured in millilitres.

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Capacity Conversion in Metric Measurement System

The Metric Measurement System, also known as the International System of Units (SI), is a globally recognized and standardized system of measurements that simplifies and unifies the units of length, mass, and capacity. The system is based on the metre, kilogram, and litre as the fundamental units of length, mass, and capacity, respectively.

In the metric system, the unit of capacity is the litre (l), which is defined as the volume of one kilogram of water at 4°C. The litre is the base unit for measuring capacity, and other units are derived by multiplying or dividing the litre by powers of 10.

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Capacity Conversion in Customary Measurement System

The United States does not officially use the SI system. They follow their own measurement system called the United States Customary Measurement System. The customary units of capacity are based on the gallon, quart, pint, and fluid ounce. The gallon is the base unit for measuring capacity in the customary system.