Litres and millilitres

In your book, Maths Mela (Chapter 8), we measure capacity: how much a container can hold. We measure it in litres (l) and millilitres (ml). 1 l = 1,000 ml. A litre is a lot of water, like a big bottle; a millilitre is a tiny amount, just a few drops.

Choose the unit that fits. To make 2 cups of tea at home, we do not need 1 l of water; 500 ml is enough. The book says 'a bucket can hold a maximum of 20 ml of water'. That is wrong! 20 ml is only a few spoonfuls. A bucket holds about 20 l.

Ramiz brings a 500 ml bottle to school and drinks two bottles: 500 ml + 500 ml = 1,000 ml = 1 l. Muskaan drinks 3 l of water in a day. 3 l = 3,000 ml, which is 6 bottlefuls of 500 ml. Khayal chacha delivers milk. Bhalerao's family orders 2 l every day, and their vessel is marked only in ml, so the milk comes up to the 2,000 ml mark. The Arora family gets 8 l in a week, which is 8,000 ml.

Dev's family needs 1 l of milk every day, and 500 ml more on Sunday: 1 l + 500 ml = 1,000 ml + 500 ml = 1,500 ml. Mary and Daisy fill their bottle with 1 l 400 ml of water. Is that 1,400 ml or 1,040 ml? 1 l = 1,000 ml, and 400 ml more makes 1,400 ml. (1,040 ml would be 1 l 40 ml.) Going the other way, 14,075 ml = 14 l 75 ml.

To compare capacities, change them to the same unit. 5 l 600 ml = 5,600 ml, which is more than 5,400 ml. So 5 l 600 ml > 5,400 ml.