Volume
The bridge between cubic units and litres: 1 l = 1 dm³, from cubic metres down to millilitres. Edit, print and share.
The volume table in chain form with the 1 l = 1 dm³ link: from cubic metres down to millilitres, plus the kitchen shortcuts 1 l = 1 000 ml and 1 dl = 100 ml. Made for the classroom and home.
One liter is exactly one cubic decimeter: 1 l = 1 dm³.
| 1 m³ | = | 1 000 dm³ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 dm³ | = | 1 l |
| 1 l | = | 10 dl |
| 1 dl | = | 10 cl |
| 1 cl | = | 10 ml |
| 1 l | = | 100 cl |
| 1 l | = | 1 000 ml |
| 1 dl | = | 100 ml |
| 1 m³ | = | 1 000 l |
| 1 ml | = | 0.001 l |
| 1 gal | = | 3.785411784 l |
| 1 qt | = | 0.946352946 l |
| 1 pt | = | 0.473176473 l |
| 1 cup | = | 236.5882365 ml |
How the table works
Every row is a unit conversion: a quantity and unit on the left, the same quantity expressed in another unit on the right. The table is live – drag the handle to reorder, click a row to change the quantity or units, remove rows with the cross and add your own at the bottom.
Everything you change lands in the page address. Copy the link and others open exactly your table – handy when the whole class needs the same sheet. Your changes are also kept in your browser until you reset them, but only there: to share or keep them permanently, the link is what counts.
Print puts the table on a single portrait A4 and Download PDF gives you the same sheet as a file. Print practice sheet gives the table with empty answer cells and name/date lines – the normal printout is the answer key.
The bridge between cubic units and litres
Volume has two families of units: the cubic ones (m³, dm³) and the litre ones (l, dl, cl, ml). The bridge between them is exact: 1 l = 1 dm³. That is also why 1 m³ = 1 000 l.
Common mistake: cubic units move three decimal places per step, not one – 1 m³ = 1 000 dm³. Compare squares and cubes on the prefix ladder.
The litre family is everywhere in the kitchen: decilitres in recipes, centilitres on bottles, millilitres on medicine. The Swedish measures msk (15 ml), tsk (5 ml) and krm (1 ml) are millilitres in disguise.
Roughly how much?
- A milk carton is exactly 1 l.
- A drinking glass holds roughly 2 dl.
- A teacup is roughly 25 cl.
- A bathtub holds roughly 150 l.
US units in metric
The table includes US gallons, quarts, pints and cups with their exact metric values (1 cup = 236.5882365 ml, about 2.4 dl), and the editor offers all four. A US fluid ounce is roughly 30 ml – its exact value (29.5735295625 ml) has too many decimals for the table’s exact-value rule. Mind the false friends: UK imperial pints and gallons are about 20 % larger than their US namesakes.
Frequently asked questions
How many decilitres are there in a litre?
1 l = 10 dl. One ten-step – the decimal point moves one place.
How many millilitres are there in a litre?
1 l = 1 000 ml. Three ten-steps: litre → decilitre → centilitre → millilitre.
Why is 1 l = 1 dm³?
The litre is defined as exactly one cubic decimetre – a cube with 1 dm sides holds precisely 1 l.
More tables: Length · Mass · Prefix ladder · Volume converter