The idea in brief. A litre, a millilitre and a cubic centimetre are three names for one amount of space, and they are joined in ONE chain: 1 litre = 1000 ml = 1000 cm³. A millilitre IS a cubic centimetre, a cube one centimetre every way, so the last link changes the name and not the number; and a thousand of those little cubes is what a litre is. The paper will give litres and ask for cubic centimetres, and the chain is walked in whichever direction it asks. In the lesson. In litres, in millilitres, in cubic centimetres. A litre is a thousand of them.
Lesson video, with the working
Litres, millilitres and cubic centimetres
2 min 49 s
The film teaches 2 questions in turn. Each question shows first; its working is written as the film explains it.
A kettle holds 3 ℓ 75 ml of water. What is the volume of the water in cubic centimetres?
The volume of the water is 3075 cm³.
Ans: 3075 cm³
Example 1
A jug is marked in litres, with 1 ℓ and 2 ℓ labelled and five equal gaps between them. The water stands one gap above the 1 ℓ mark. How much water is in the jug? Give your answer in cubic centimetres.
There is 1200 cm³ of water in the jug.
Ans: 1200 cm³
How to solve it
Remember that one litre is one thousand millilitres, and 1 millilitre fills 1 cubic centimetre.
Change litres into millilitres first: 3 litres is three thousand millilitres.
Add the two parts: three thousand plus 75 is three thousand and 75 millilitres.
Every millilitre is a cubic centimetre, so the volume is three thousand and 75 cubic centimetres.
On a scale, work out one gap: one thousand shared into 5 gaps is 200 millilitres a gap.
One amount of water. In litres, in millilitres, in cubic centimetres. A litre is a thousand of them.
Practice questions with worked solutions
Question 1 is free to try. The other 12 open in the free trial, each with its full working.
Question 1 of 13 · Basic · free to tryA beaker is marked with a scale. The bottom of the scale is 0 and the top…A beaker is marked with a scale…
A beaker is marked with a scale. The bottom of the scale is 0 and the top mark is labelled 1 ℓ, with four equal gaps between them. The other marks carry no labels. The water stands at the third mark above the bottom. How much water is in the beaker? Give your answer in millilitres.
How do you answer litres to cubic centimetres questions in P6?
Volume questions mix litres, millilitres and cubic centimetres, and a measuring scale may have unlabelled marks.
What your child learns here
Volume questions mix litres, millilitres and cubic centimetres, and a measuring scale may have unlabelled marks. This page covers the conversions and the scale reading that P6 tank questions rely on. The link between litres and cubic centimetres is an outcome from earlier years, and Primary 6 volume questions use it without saying so.
Use the chain 1 litre equals 1000 millilitres equals 1000 cubic centimetres, so 1 millilitre is 1 cubic centimetre.
Convert a decimal number of litres to millilitres, such as 2.35 litres to 2350 millilitres.
Convert a compound amount, such as 2 litres 40 millilitres, to 2040 millilitres.
Read a scale by counting the gaps between two labelled marks and sharing the difference equally.
Put two capacities into the same unit before dividing to find how many small containers one large one fills.
Does the answer make sense?
Converting litres to millilitres or cubic centimetres makes the number 1000 times bigger, and going back makes it 1000 times smaller, since 1 millilitre is 1 cubic centimetre. A reading your child takes from a scale must lie between the two labelled marks the water sits between.
How to practise these questions
Basic questions train moving between litres, millilitres and cubic centimetres, and reading scales. Intermediate questions add unlabelled marks, ordering volumes in different units, and how many small containers fill a large one. Challenge questions compare two scales with different markings, or ask what a remainder really means. If litres, ml and cm³ get mixed up, read the written step-by-step solution.
Questions parents ask
Is 1 ml the same as 1 cubic centimetre? Yes. One millilitre of liquid fills exactly one cubic centimetre, so 1 litre is 1000 millilitres and also 1000 cubic centimetres. The MOE syllabus lists the relationship between litres or millilitres and cubic centimetres as a Volume outcome.
How do you change litres and millilitres into millilitres? Multiply the litres by 1000 and add the millilitres. So 3 litres 8 millilitres is 3000 plus 8, which is 3008 millilitres.
How do you read a measuring jug with unlabelled marks? Find two labelled marks, count the gaps between them, and divide the difference by the number of gaps. That gives the value of one gap, and you count on from there.
