What is Volume?
Volume is the amount of space a substance takes up. Although there are many other units that can be used to express volume, the most common ones are litres, cubic metres, gallons, millilitres, teaspoons, and ounces. In this article, we will discuss the use of volume in real life and why volume is important in Science.
Why is Volume Important in Science?
In science, measurements of length, width, and height are used to compute an object's volume, which is its interior space. Science revolves around physical quantities for general calculations and volume is one among them. In physics and chemistry, the concept of volume is used to describe three-dimensional space. It is derived from length units (one dimension). The litre L is a more widely used unit in the metric system than the cubic metre (m3), which is the basic SI (international system) unit of volume.
Measurement of volume in solid, liquid, and gases follow the general criteria. Gases have a volume equal to the internal volume of the container because they fill their containers to the brim. Containers with a marked volume or one whose internal shape is known are frequently used to measure liquids. Measuring cups, graduated cylinders, flasks, and beakers are a few examples of the tools used to measure liquid volume. The volume of regular solid shapes can be calculated using formulas. Measuring the amount of liquid that a solid displaces is another way to calculate its volume.
Volume of Different Containers
How Can You Use Volume in Real Life?
In our daily lifestyle, generally we talk about the quantity of water to be added to tea, the amount of milk to be bought daily, or about the recipe of your favourite dish. Everything we measure comes under this physical quantity called volume. Let us see the use of volume in daily life:
House Cleaning: All the major housekeeping cleaning tasks involve the use of volume. Whether we talk about the amount of water to be used or about the fixed amount of liquid detergent to be added. Sometimes in order to dilute a respective detergent, a specific volume of water will do the needful. Thus, we always look forward to adding a fixed amount of liquid in our cleaning chores too.
Cooking: The number of measuring spoons in one's kitchen will tell us enough how frequently we use the term volume. Whether it would be ½ cup of oil to prepare a basic recipe to a litre of water needed to prepare a soup.
Fuel Intake: These days our life is impossible without any sort of vehicle. Whether it would be a bicycle or a car we will need to fuel it up for our daily routine to function properly. So the amount is determined by a volume calculation, whether you fill up with gasoline or another fuel in gallons, litres, or both.
Solved Questions
1. What is the S.I. Unit of volume in science?
Ans: The S.I. unit of volume is the cubic metre (m3). However, the litre is the unit of volume that is most frequently used. Other units used to measure large and small volumes include millilitres (ml), pints, gallons, and others.
2. What is volume?
Ans: The capacity of an object is measured by its volume. For instance, a cup's volume is said to be 100 ml if it can hold 100 ml of water in its brim.
3. How is volume useful in real life?
Ans: The term volume is useful in daily life as whether we talk about making a recipe or a drink we measure it with any of the units of volume and same goes with vehicle fuel intake too.
Summary
The term "volume" describes how much room an object occupies. In other words, just as height and width are ways to describe size, volume is a measure of an object's size. The volume of an object is how much water it can hold if it is hollow, or empty. The SI unit of volume is cubic metre though litre is the commonly used one.
FAQs on Uses of Volume in Daily Life
1. What exactly is volume in simple terms?
In simple terms, volume is the amount of three-dimensional space an object takes up. Think about a toy car in a box. The space the toy car itself occupies is its volume. Everything around us, from a tiny pebble to a huge building, has a volume.
2. Can you give some examples of how we use volume in our daily life?
Yes, we use volume all the time! Here are a few common examples:
- Cooking and Baking: When you measure milk in a cup (e.g., 250 ml) for a cake, you are measuring its volume.
- Fueling Vehicles: The amount of petrol or diesel you put in a car is measured in litres, which is a unit of volume.
- Drinking Water: A standard water bottle holds a specific volume of water, like 1 litre.
- Medicine: When you take cough syrup, the doctor advises a specific dose, like 5 ml, which is a measure of volume.
3. How do we measure the volume of a liquid like water or juice?
We measure the volume of liquids using special containers that have markings on them. The most common tools are measuring cups (used in kitchens) and graduated cylinders (used in science labs). The volume is usually measured in units like millilitres (mL) or litres (L).
4. What is the difference between an object's volume and its capacity?
This is a great question! While related, they are different. Volume is the total space an object occupies. Capacity is how much a hollow object can hold inside it. For example, a closed water bottle has a volume (the space the plastic itself takes up), but its capacity is the amount of water it can contain, like 1 litre.
5. Why is it important to understand volume in our daily lives?
Understanding volume is very important for practical reasons. It helps us follow recipes correctly to make food taste good, ensures we buy enough paint to cover a wall, helps in taking the correct dose of medicine to get well, and allows us to understand how much space our things will take up when we pack a bag for a trip.
6. How is volume different from area? They both seem to measure space.
Area and volume both measure space, but in different ways. Area measures a flat, two-dimensional (2D) surface, like the amount of carpet needed for a floor. Volume measures the space inside a three-dimensional (3D) object, like the amount of air inside a balloon. Think of area as a flat square, and volume as a full cube.
7. How can you find the volume of an object with an irregular shape, like a stone?
We can find the volume of an irregularly shaped object like a stone using the water displacement method. You first measure a specific volume of water in a measuring cylinder. Then, you gently drop the stone into it. The water level will rise. The difference between the new water level and the original water level is the volume of the stone.
8. If I pour water from a tall, thin glass into a short, wide bowl, does its volume change?
No, the volume of the water does not change. The amount of water remains exactly the same. Only its shape changes to fit the new container. This is a key property of liquids – they have a definite volume but no definite shape.
