Courses
Courses for Kids
Free study material
Offline Centres
More
Store Icon
Store

Litre Unit of Volume in Measurement

Reviewed by:
ffImage
hightlight icon
highlight icon
highlight icon
share icon
copy icon

What Is a Litre Definition Formula and Conversion Examples

Volume is the amount of 3D space something takes up. The two most common measurements of volume in terms of liquid are Litres and Millilitres. Thus, a litre is a unit of measuring volume under the metric system. litres are commonly written as L (in short), so "5 L" indicates "5 litres" (you can also use lowercase l). In addition, a litre is just a clump of millilitres that is put all together. In fact, one litre

Makes up 1000 millilitres i.e.: 1 litre = 1,000 millilitres.

[Image will be Uploaded Soon]

Examples of Litres

Milk, cold drinks, juices, soda and other drinks and carbonated drinks are often sold in litres. This is to say, the jug contains exactly 2 litres of water in it.


Let’s check out the capacity that each metric unit holds. Below is the summation in a tabular form.

Metric Units and Fluid Volume Used in Measuring Volume

Metric Units

Capacity Or Fluid Volume

1 litre

1000 millilitre

10 millilitre

1 centilitre

10 centilitres

1 decilitre

10 decilitres

1 litre

1000 litres

1 kilolitre

1,000,000 litres

1 megalitre

1,000,000,000 litres

1 gigalitre

500 mL

half a litre


Measuring volume units are also expressed in short forms such as below:

Abbreviations Used in Measuring Volume

Metric Units

Abbreviation

litre

L , l

Millilitre

mL

Kilolitres

kL

Megalitres

ML

Gigalitres

gL


 One Litre

Litres are often used for commodities or components (like the fluids and solids which can be poured) and are measured by the size or capacity of their container. On the other hand, cubic meters (and derived units) are commonly used for items measured either by their dimensions or their displacements. The litre is also used in some measurements, like the density (kg/L), enabling easy comparison with the density of water.


One Litre of Water

1 litre of water contains a mass of almost one kilogram since the kilogram was originally described as the mass of one cubic decimetre of water (10 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm) at the temperature of melting ice (0 °C) in 1795. Followed up redefinitions of the metre and kilogram indicated that this relationship is no longer exact.


Solved Examples


Example1:

Alex bought a bottle of hand sanitiser. The bottle contains 4000 ml of liquid content.

Find out the volume of litres of the liquid does the sanitiser bottle contain?

Solution:

4000mL = 4000/1,000

=4 L

Therefore, the sanitiser bottle contains 4L


Example2:

Mr. Brown purchased 5 cans of pineapple juice of 1 L each. He drank 2500 mL of juice. Calculate the mL of juice still remaining in the cans?

Solution:

1 can=1 

L5 cans=5

L= 5×2,500=12,500

mL=12,500 mL−2,500 mL =10,000

∴ 10,000 mL of juice is remaining.


Example3:

The volume of a kitchen pantry trash bin in a school is 70 litres. Find out the gallons of trash that the trash bin in the kitchen can hold?

Solution:

To find out: The volume of the trash bin in gallons.

Given: The given volume of the kitchen trash bin = 70 litres.

Applying the formula of litres to gallons,

gallons = 0.264172 * litres

gallons = 0.264172 * 70 = 18.49204

Hence, the volume of the given kitchen trash bin it can hold = 2.64172 gallons. 


Fun Facts

  • Litre was once used as a base unit under the original French metric system

  • The term litre is extracted from a traditional French unit, the ‘litron’, whose name appeared from Byzantine Greek—where it was regarded as a unit of weight, not volume and equivalent to approximately 0.831 litres.

  • The litre is accepted for use with the SI, not an SI unit—the SI unit of volume is the cubic metre (m3).

  • The spelling "litre" is primarily used in American English.

  • A litre is represented with an abbreviation L or l is measured as L3 which is used to measure liquids.

  • A litre is a bit more than a quart in the measurement

FAQs on Litre Unit of Volume in Measurement

1. What is a litre in maths?

A litre (L) is a metric unit used to measure volume or capacity, especially for liquids. It tells us how much space a liquid occupies. In the metric system, litres are commonly used for measuring water, milk, petrol, and other fluids. One litre is equal to the volume of a cube that is 10 cm on each side.

2. How many millilitres are in a litre?

There are 1000 millilitres (mL) in 1 litre (L).

  • 1 L = 1000 mL
  • 500 mL = 0.5 L
  • 250 mL = 0.25 L
This conversion is based on the metric system, where each unit increases or decreases by powers of 10.

3. What is the relationship between litre and cubic centimetre?

One litre is equal to 1000 cubic centimetres (cm³).

  • 1 L = 1000 cm³
  • 1 mL = 1 cm³
This means that a cube measuring 10 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm has a volume of 1 litre.

4. How do you convert litres to millilitres?

To convert litres to millilitres, multiply the number of litres by 1000.

  • Formula: mL = L × 1000
  • Example: 3 L × 1000 = 3000 mL
This works because “milli” means one-thousandth in the metric system.

5. How do you convert millilitres to litres?

To convert millilitres to litres, divide the number of millilitres by 1000.

  • Formula: L = mL ÷ 1000
  • Example: 750 mL ÷ 1000 = 0.75 L
This conversion is commonly used in capacity and volume problems in maths.

6. Is 1 litre equal to 1 kilogram?

One litre is equal to 1 kilogram only for water under standard conditions. The relationship depends on density.

  • 1 L of water ≈ 1 kg
  • 1 L of oil < 1 kg
  • 1 L of mercury > 1 kg
Litres measure volume, while kilograms measure mass, so they are not always directly equal.

7. What is the formula to calculate volume in litres?

To calculate volume in litres, first find the volume in cubic centimetres and then divide by 1000.

  • Volume (cm³) = length × width × height
  • Litres = Volume (cm³) ÷ 1000
Example: A box measuring 20 cm × 10 cm × 5 cm has volume 1000 cm³, which equals 1 litre.

8. What is the difference between litre and millilitre?

A litre is a larger unit of volume, while a millilitre is one-thousandth of a litre.

  • 1 L = 1000 mL
  • Used for larger quantities: litres
  • Used for smaller quantities: millilitres
Both units are part of the metric system for measuring liquid capacity.

9. How do you add and subtract litres and millilitres?

To add or subtract litres and millilitres, first convert them into the same unit.

  • Example: 2 L 500 mL + 1 L 250 mL
  • Convert to mL: 2500 mL + 1250 mL = 3750 mL
  • Convert back: 3750 mL = 3 L 750 mL
Always regroup 1000 mL as 1 L when needed.

10. Where are litres used in real life?

Litres are used to measure liquid capacity in everyday life.

  • Water bottles (1 L, 2 L)
  • Milk cartons
  • Fuel at petrol stations
  • Cooking measurements
In maths, litres are important for solving word problems involving volume, capacity, and unit conversions.