How much space?

Measuring Volume

By Moira Whitehouse PhD

how much space an object takes up.

We have learned that all matter• takes up space

• has mass

the amount of matter in an object

Mass is

Volume is

Now let’s look at how mass and volume are different.

Volume is more like size.

Mass is more like weight.

•Mass is different than size and volume.

. The rocks in the right pan balance with the larger sponge in the left pan.

This means that the sponge and the two rocks have a. the same volume or b. the same mass.

Do the two fossils and sponge have the same volume? Which one has the greater volume?

Yes, since the scale balances, they have the same mass.

The sponge has more volume than the two rocks.

Look at the two cans of soda pop—one is full Dr. Pepper and the other is full of Diet Coke.

Both cans have the same a. mass or b. volume. Do you think they have the same mass? Yes, both cans have the same volume.

Let’s put them on a balance scale and see.

Do the two cans of soda have the same mass? The can of Dr. Pepper has more mass the the can of Diet Coke.

Back to volume--the amount of space that an object takes up.

Volume is measured by seeing how much stuff (like a solid, gas, or liquid) it takes to fill a space or a container.

How is it measured?

Scientists used a cubed meter for the standard size to describe “how much” space.

The box that the girl is sitting in has a volume of 1 cubic meter.

Remember, the meter is made up of 100 centimeters. If we make a cube measuring one centimeter on each side, we have a box shaped space.

The amount of space in this blue cube is one cubic centimeter (1 cc)

The amount of space in this blue cube is one cubic centimeter (1 cc)

This is the unit we usually use to measure how much space anything takes up.

The amount of space in this blue cube is one cubic centimeter (1 cc)

This is the unit we usually use to measure how much space anything takes up.This shows how much space, not the shape of the space.

The amount of space in this blue cube is one cubic centimeter (1 cc)

This is the unit we usually use to measure how much space anything takes up.

Different shapes, same volume.

This shows how much space, not the shape of the space.

1 cc 1 cc

Let’s look at this once again. The blue cube below has a volume of 1 cc. The liquid in the spoon below has a volume of 1 cc. Same volumes but different shapes.

If you melted the solid blue cube, the liquid would exactly fill the 1 cc measuring spoon.The amount of liquid in the measuring spoon shown is also called 1 milliliter (mL).

Here we see that one milliliter of a liquid in a syringe fits exactly into an empty cubic centimeter.

Therefore one milliliter and one cubic centimeter have the same volume—they take up the same amount of space.

When we describe the volume of an object or the volume of a space we are saying how many cubic centimeters it would take to fill that space.

For example, it takes 70 cubic centimeters to completely fill this paperclip box.

What is the volume of the box?

The boxes volume is 70 cubic centimeters. It took 70 1 cm cubes to fill the box.

In this picture we see a single blue cube, what is its volume?

Yes, this cube has a volume of 1 cubic centimeter (1 cc)

The volume of this line of blue cubes is:

10 cubic centimeters

The volume of this square of blue cubes is:

100 cubic centimeters

The volume of this cube of blue cubes is:

Right, 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm = 1000 cubic centimeters.

It took one thousand of those blue centimeter cubes to completely fill this box.

And since 1 cc = 1 mL, the 1000 cc blue block should fit exactly inside an empty box labeled 1000 mL.

Let’s check it out.

Yes, a 1000 cc block exactly fills this 1000 mL container. (Remember cubic centimeter {cc} and milliliter {mL} are two names for the same amount of volume)

And since 1 liter = 1000 mL, this plastic box should have exactly the same volume as this one liter bottle of Ginger Ale

And it does!

To measure the volume of liquids in the classroom, we have special tools called graduated cylinders, syringes and beakers.

The units we use to measure the volume of liquids are cubic centimeters (cc) and milliliters (mL).

Now it is time to measure some volumes of liquids.

mL

What is the volume of the blue liquid?

How many blue 1 cm cubes melted into a liquid would it take to fill the graduated cylinder to this point?

mL

What is the volume of the blue liquid?

How many blue 1 cm cubes melted into a liquid would it take to fill the graduated cylinder to this point?

What is the volume of the blue liquid?

How many blue 1 cm cubes melted into a liquid would it take to fill the graduated cylinder to this point?

What is the volume of the blue liquid?

What is the volume of the blue liquid?

So remember, in science, volume is how much space something takes up, not how loud your music is.