Subjects(s):
                    metric measurement

Learner Outcomes:

• Students will gain an understanding of volume and capacity.  They will be able to measure this using the correct metric units.

Duration of Lesson:
                    30-45 minutes

Materials:
                    30 cm x 40 cm pieces of card stock or poster board, Colored pencils or markers, metric rulers, tape, scissors.

Technology Tools/Courseware:
                    Computer, word processor, presentation software

Teacher Notes:

• Emphasize to student that the correct designation for the liter is the cursive lowercase letter L.  In typing use the capital letter L to avoid confusion with the number 1.

Procedures:

Introduce the liter as the metric unit for measuring volume or capacity.  Explain that the liter is based on the meter.  It is defined as a cube 10 cm wide by 10 cm tall and 10 cm deep.  Its volume is 1000 cm3.

• Have student layout the pattern for their liter by following the pattern of the attached diagram.  Once the pattern is cut out, they can fold and tape to create their liter. Attachment

• Before assembling the liter, students can decorate the outside of the liter with a design of their choosing, or with metric facts and figures, i.e. the prefixes, metric and English equivalents etc.  Have students draw lines horizontally and vertically on one of the sides, spaced 1 cm apart to represent cubic centimeters.

• If this activity is done as group work, have some members of the group create a cubic centimeter which is laid out exactly as the liter except that the section are only 1 cm x 1 cm.

Students should grasp the concept that the liter cube is 10 cm3 x 10 cm³ x 10 cm³ or 1000 cm³.  Each cm³ is .001 (1/1000) of a liter or 1 ml.  Most students can relate to getting a shot from the doctor, in which the hypodermic needle is measured in cc or cubic centimeters equivalent to mL.

• Introduce the unit for mass at this time by explaining that the liter is used as the standard for the kilogram.  A gram is defined, as a volume of distilled water equal to 1 cubic centimeter, at a temperature of 4 degrees Celsius.  Therefore, a liter of water will have a mass of 1 kilogram.
•     Q:  Why does the standard require a limit of 4 degrees Celsius?
•     A: Water will contract or expand as its temperature changes; therefore its volume will change as the temperature changes.  To remain consistent a limit is set for its temperature.
•     Q: Why is distilled water used as a standard?
•     A: Distilled water is pure water with all dissolved substance removed, so its mass is consistent.  Salt water or water that has various dissolved substances would have different densities; therefore a different mass.

• Prepare cutouts for the liter before hand.

Enrichment/Activity:

• Use Plexiglas and adhesives to construct the liter model instead of paper.  This container can then be used to hold liquids.
• Calculate the volume of the classroom by measuring in meters.
• Use the word Liter in Haiku poetry for a class publication.

• Students should be able to estimate the number of liters in certain English units, i.e., quarts and gallons.  Rubric
• Introduce the concept of density. Have students determine the density of various objects.
• Have students use the term liter in Haiku poetry.  Create a collection of their work and make a class publication using a word processing program, or presentation software.

West Virginia Instructional Goals and Objectives

• Science:

• Language Arts:

• Math:

National Standards:
 

• Math:

• Language:

• Science:

References:
W.V.D.E. Metric Means Measure, Implementation Guide; compiled by Richard E. Wilkes and James R. Myers, Fourth printing 1977

Dale Faughn (Kentucky Poet Laureate)
Co-Director, Pilot Writing Project
Caldwell County High School
Rt. 1, Box 137B
Princeton, Kentucky    42445
 
 
 
 
 

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

Mail