Litres (l) and millilitres (ml)

Litres and millilitres are used to measure how much water and other liquids are in a container. One litre is 1000 ml. Here’s an example question:

Josephine has 2 litres of water in her bag. How much is that in millilitres?

We know 1 litre is 1000 millilitres. So 2 litres would be 2000 millilitres.

2 x 1000 = 2000ml

Here’s another example question:

Bob has 500ml of milk every day. How much is that in litres?

We know 1 litre is 1000 millilitres. But what would 500ml be?

To help us, we need to divide 1 and 1000 by 10. This would give us 0.1 and 100.

Why is this important? Because we now know 0.1 litres = 100 millilitres.

So we can now work out that 500ml is 0.5 litres.

Now you try

Or you can download a printable worksheet here with the answers here.

Metres (m) and centimetres (cm)

Metres and centimetres are used to measure the distance between two points. It is also used to show how tall something or someone is. One metre is 100cm. Here’s an example question:

The climbing frame was 5 metres tall. What is that in centimetres?

We know that 1 metre is 100cm. So 5 metres would be 500cm.

5 x 100 = 500cm

Here’s another example question:

Tom is 130 centimetres tall. What is this in metres?

We know that 100cm make up 1 metre. But what would 130cm be?

To find out, we can divide 130 by 100, like this:

130 ÷ 100 = 1.3 metres

Now you try

Or you can download a printable worksheet here with the answers here.

Kilograms (kg) and grams (g)

Kilograms and grams are used to measure how heavy something is. One kilogram is 1000g. Here’s an example question:

The recipe said John needed to add 2kg of flour for the birthday cake. What is this in grams?

We know that each kilogram is 1000g. So 2kg would be 2000g.

2 x 1000 = 2000g

Here’s another example question:

For dinner, Sarah needed to put 400g of chicken nuggets in the oven. What is this in kilograms?

We know that 1 kilogram is 1000 grams. So we would need to multiply 400 by 1000, like this:

400 x 1000 = 0.4kg

The answer to that question is 0.4kg.

Now you try

Or you can download a printable worksheet here with the answers here.