Name

Section Instructor

Metric Measurement and

Volume Displacement

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OBJECTIVES

Place a check mark (✓) in the box in front of each item as you complete it.

❑❑ 1. I can list the standard units of measure in the metric system for length, volume,
and mass.
❑❑ 2. I can measure linear distances using the meter, centimeter, and millimeter and
am able to convert between these units.
❑❑ 3. I can measure the volume of a liquid using the liter and milliliter and am able
to convert between these units.
❑❑ 4. I can measure mass using the gram and milligram and am able to convert
between these units.
❑❑ 5. I can measure the volume of objects using the volume displacement method.
❑❑ 6. I can explain the difference between volume and mass.
❑❑ 7. I can calculate a mean (average).

MATERIALS

1. Meter stick and small plastic ruler

2. Graduated cylinders with funnel
3. Electronic balance
4. Five small glass beads
5. Plastic bottles of various volumes
6. Small items of various masses
7. Calculators
8. Density cubes

INTRODUCTION

We continually make observations about the world around us, often describing what we
see in the form of a comparison, such as the fact that the tree is taller than the house,
the pitcher is about half full, or that there are more apples than oranges in the basket.

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 Metric Measurement and Volume Displacement

1. METRIC MEASUREMENT—LENGTH

A. The standard metric unit of length is the meter. Notice that the meter stick is
subdivided into numbered units about the width of a marking pen. These units
are called centimeters, abbreviated “cm.” Each centimeter is further subdivided
into very small units called millimeters, abbreviated “mm.” Answer the following
questions.
100
How many centimeters are in one meter?______________________________________
10
How many millimeters are in one centimeter? _________________________________
1000
How many millimeters are in one meter? ______________________________________

Inches
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Centimeters

B. What is the mean (average) length of a glass bead?

1. There are five numbered glass beads in your container.

2. Measure the length of each glass bead at its longest point to the nearest tenth
of a centimeter. Convert your measurements to millimeters.

3. Record your data in Table 1 below and divide the total by 5 to obtain the mean
length of your glass beads in cm and mm.

4. Put your mean results on the board and then find the mean of the class data.

Table 1.  Length Measurement Data

Glass Bead 1 2 3 4 5 Total Mean

cm 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.9 9.3 1.86
mm 19 19 18 18 19 93 18.6

5. What is the mean length of a glass bead as measured by your class?

1.86 18.6
____________ cm     ____________ mm

2. METRIC MEASUREMENT—VOLUME

A. The standard metric unit of volume is the liter. Smaller volumes are measured in
milliliters. Answer the following question and show your work.
1000
How many milliliters are there in 1 liter? ______________________________________

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 Metric Measurement and Volume Displacement

7. Repeat with three additional bottles of different volumes.

Table 2.  Volume Measurement Data

Maximum Possible
Bottle Volume on Label (ml) Difference in Volume
Volume (ml)
1 700 720 20
2 296 330 34
3 200 222 22
4 354 375 29

3. METRIC MEASUREMENT—MASS

A. The standard metric unit of mass is the gram. Items of small mass are measured
in milligrams. Larger objects may be measured in kilograms. Answer the following
questions and show your work.
1000
How many milligrams are there in 1 gram? ____________________________________
1000
How many grams are there in 1 kilogram? _____________________________________
1000000
How many milligrams are there in 1 kilogram?_________________________________

B. Mass Measurements

1. Turn the electronic balance on. Set the balance to zero by pressing the “Tare”
or “Zero” button.

2. Pick four items from the tray near the balance. Record the mass (in grams and
then convert to milligrams) of each item in Table 3 below, ranking the items
from lightest (#1) to heaviest (#4). Be sure to reset the balance to zero between
measurements.

Table 3.  Mass Measurement Data

Item Mass (g) Mass (mg) Rank

Dime 2.3 2300 4
Duck 52.5 52500 2
Binder Clip 6.1 6100 3
Wrench 99.9 99900 1

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Metric Measurement and Volume Displacement

SECTION 1 REVIEW QUESTIONS

Answer the following questions after completing this exercise.

100
1. 1 meter = ___________________ centimeters
1000
2. 1 meter = ___________________ millimeters
100
3. 10 centimeters = ____________ millimeters
1000
4. 1 kilometer = ____________________meters
1000
5. 1 liter = ______________________ milliliters
2000
6. 2 liters = _____________________ milliliters
1000
7. 1 gram = ____________________ milligrams
1000
8. 1 kilogram = _____________________ grams

9. What unit of metric measurement would be best used to measure the:

Centimeter
a. Length of your arm?����������������������������������������������������
Millimeter
b. Thickness of a dime? ����������������������������������������������������
Kilometer
c. Distance from your town to the next? ������������������������������������
Gram
d. Mass of a candy bar? ����������������������������������������������������
Kilogram
e. Your weight? �����������������������������������������������������������
Milligram
f. Mass of a medicine tablet? ����������������������������������������������
Liter
g. Amount of water in a bathtub? ������������������������������������������
Milliliter
h. Amount of liquid in a bottle of perfume? ���������������������������������

10. Mark the following measurements on the ruler with a line and the letter.

a. 66 mm

b. 93 mm

c. 129 mm

d. 3.5 cm

e. 0.4 cm

1 cm 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

14
 Metric Measurement and Volume Displacement

Section 2—Volume Displacement

A. MEASURING VOLUME BY THE DISPLACEMENT METHOD

Volume is a measurement of how much space an object occupies. You already used a
graduated cylinder to measure the volume of various bottles. For solids that have an
irregular shape, the displacement method must be used to determine their volume.
When using the displacement method, you must first measure the starting volume of
the liquid. Then add the object and record the change in volume. This gives the volume
of the irregularly shaped object. Please note that this method only works for
objects that sink in water!

PROCEDURE

1. Obtain three irregularly shaped objects from the counter.

2. Make a prediction on which object will have the largest volume and which one
will have the smallest volume. Write those predictions in the blanks provided in
the chart below.

Rock
Predicted largest volume object

Metal
Predicted smallest volume object

3. Fill your graduated cylinder to half full with tap water. Read the volume of water
in the graduated cylinder. (Read the bottom of the meniscus. See the figure
on page 12.)

4. Record the volume of the water in Table 4 on the following page.

5. Carefully drop one of your objects into the graduated cylinder (don’t splash any of
the water out). Wait for the water to settle, then read the volume at the bottom of
the meniscus. This is your final water level.

6. Record this number in Table 4 on the following page.

7. Subtract the initial volume of water from the final volume. The difference is the
volume of the object. Record the difference in Table 4 on the following page.

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Metric Measurement and Volume Displacement

8. Repeat the previous steps for two other objects and record your data in Table 4.

Table 4.  Volume Displacement Data

Base Level
Final Level Volume
Name of of Water
of Water of Object
Object (don’t forget
(units!) (units!)
units)
1. 130 mL 150 mL 20 mL
Rock

2. 130 mL 134 mL 4 mL

Metal Object

3. 90 mL 106 16 mL

Toy

a. Which object had the largest volume? Rock



b. Which object had the smallest volume? Metal

 Object

c. Was your prediction correct? Yes



d. Which graduated cylinder is the best to use for this activity—the largest one
possible or the smallest one that the object fits in? Why?

Largest one since the water level will rise when the object is in. If the cyclinder is too small then the water le

16
 Metric Measurement and Volume Displacement

B. UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VOLUME AND MASS

Students sometimes confuse volume and mass. Remember that volume is a measure-
ment of how much space an object occupies. We can measure volume with a graduated
cylinder. Mass is very different—it is a measurement of how much matter an object
contains. We can measure mass with a balance.

PROCEDURE

1. Obtain three density cubes from the counter.

2. Make a prediction on which cube will have the largest volume. Make a prediction
on which cube will have the largest mass. Write those predictions in the blanks
provided in the chart below (each cube has a name or symbol on the side).

Cube with Largest Predicted Volume Cube with Largest Predicted Mass

All are the same volume Iron

3. Measure the volume of each cube using the volume displacement method. Record
your results in Table 5.

4. Measure the mass of each cube using the balance. Record your results in Table 5.

Table 5.  Volume and Mass of Cubes

Base Level of
Final Level of Volume of Mass of Cube
Name of Cube Water (don’t
Water (units!) Cube (units!) (units!)
forget units)
1. 150 mL 165 mL 15 mL 124.9 g

Iron

2. 150 mL 165 mL 15 mL 19.3 g

Acrylic

3. 150 mL 165 mL 15 mL 43.9 g

Aluminum

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Metric Measurement and Volume Displacement

a. Which cube had the largest volume?

All cubes had the same volume

b. Which cube had the largest mass?

Iron

c. Was your prediction correct?

Yes
d. In your own words (without copying the definitions from the beginning of this
section), what is the difference between volume and mass?

Volume is how much space something takes up while mass is the amount of space taken up in a certain area

18
 Name

Section Instructor

QUESTIONS
52700
1. A candy bar weighs 52.7 grams. How much does it weigh in milligrams? _____________

2. A U.S. dime is about 18 millimeters in diameter. What is the diameter of a dime in

1.8
centimeters? _____________

0.335
3. A standard can of pop contains 355 milliliters. What is that volume in liters? ________

4. Look at the picture of the graduated cylinder to the right. What

5.1
is the volume of water in the cylinder? ___________ milliliters

©Hayden-McNeil, LLC
25
5. Circle the largest item in each pair below: 10

a. 625 milliliters 6 liters 20

b. 100 centimeters 0.1 meter

15
c. 25.3 grams 2,530 milligrams 5

6. Imagine that your friend wants to measure the volume of an 10

object. Explain how the displacement method works for measur-

ing the volume of an object. 5

The displacement method works by filling a graduated cyclinder then placing the object in the cyclinder and seeing how h

7. Look at the previous question. Imagine that your friend doesn’t understand your expla-
nation, so you decide to draw a picture to help them understand. Draw your picture
illustrating volume displacement using the two graduated cylinders shown here.

TEKK TEKK
USA USA

20°C 20°C

ml ml
100 100

90 90

80 80

70 70

60 60

50 50
©Hayden-McNeil, LLC

40 40

30 30

20 20

10 10

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 Metric Measurement and Volume Displacement

8. If two objects have the exact same volume and they both sink, but one has more mass
Yes
than the other, will they displace the same volume of water? _______________________

Explain your answer:

Volume is the amount of space something takes up while mass is how much stuff is in that certain space. This me

9. Which metric unit would be best used to measure the mass of an apple? (circle one)

Use the Comment tools and a. millimeter b. centimeter c. milliliter d. liter e. milligram f. gram g. meter
select the Pencil drawing
tool to circle the correct
answer.
10. Which metric unit would be best used to measure the height of the ceiling? (circle one)

a. millimeter b. centimeter c. milliliter d. liter e. milligram f. gram g. meter

11. Which metric unit would be best used to measure the volume of water in a swim-
ming pool? (circle one)

a. millimeter b. centimeter c. milliliter d. liter e. milligram f. gram g. meter

12. Which metric unit would be best used to measure the thickness of a human hair?
(circle one)

a. millimeter b. centimeter c. milliliter d. liter e. milligram f. gram g. meter

20