US Standard Volume - Math Is Fun

US Standard Volume

These are the most common US Standard volume measurements:

• Fluid Ounces
• Cups
• Pints
• Quarts
• Gallons

Fluid Ounces (fl oz) are small.

About how much fits in a small medicine cup.

Fluid Ounce!

"Fluid Ounce" is used for volume, "Ounce" is for mass, and they are different.

• For example: 1 fluid ounce of honey has a mass of about 1.5 ounces!
• But for water 1 fluid ounce has a mass of about 1 ounce

If you mean an ounce of fluid say "fluid ounce" ("fl oz")

Cups

A small glass holds about 8 fluid ounces, which is also called 1 cup.

1 cup = 8 fluid ounces

We can measure volume using special Measuring Cups.

Here we have 2/3 cup (two-thirds of a cup) of milk, or about 5 fluid ounces

Pints

A pint is equal to 2 cups (example: a large glass of milk!)

1 pint = 2 cups = 16 fluid ounces

Quarts

When measuring many cups of liquid all put together we might want to use quarts.

A quart (qt) is the same thing as 4 cups or 2 pints.

1 quart = 2 pints = 4 cups = 32 fluid ounces

Gallons

If we still need more liquid we can switch to using gallons.

A gallon (gal) is the same as 16 cups or 8 pints or 4 quarts. It is the largest liquid measurement.

(Note that a quart is a quarter of a gallon!)

1 gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints = 16 cups

In Summary:

1 gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints = 16 cups = 128 fluid ounces

Other Volume Measurements

Cubic Inch

Volume is length by length by length,

so the Cubic Inch is a cube that is 1 inch on each side.

The Unit is written many ways, such as:

• in3
• inch3
• cu in
• cu inch
• cubic inches
• etc ...

Barrel of Oil

1 oil barrel (bbl) is equal to 42 gallons (or about 160 Liters)

More Examples

A fluid ounce is:

• very close to 30 milliliters (metric volume)
• more precisely 29.5735297 milliliters

A pint is:

• about half a liter
• more precisely 473.176473 milliliters

A quart is:

• about a liter
• more precisely 946.352946 milliliters

A gallon is:

• about 4 liters
• more precisely 3.7854118 liters

1943, 1944, 5695, 5696, 1004, 1005, 1003, 3632, 3633, 1945 Activity: Discover Capacity US Standard Units Introduction Measurement Index