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Chemistry Forums for Students => Undergraduate General Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: mlinden on January 27, 2005, 09:42:46 PM

Title: changing volume into liters
Post by: mlinden on January 27, 2005, 09:42:46 PM
im struggling on how to convert volume into liters. My book has an equation but with different examples for the equation. write back as soon as possible. Thanks mike
Title: Re:changing volume into liters
Post by: dexangeles on January 27, 2005, 11:54:37 PM
liters is a volume unit.
so what "unit" do you need to convert to liters?
Title: Re:changing volume into liters
Post by: mlinden on January 28, 2005, 12:29:15 PM
i need to convert 8.0ft.x17.4ft.x9.0ft.      i need this volume into liter can anyone help? thanks mike
Title: Re:changing volume into liters
Post by: jdurg on January 28, 2005, 03:01:42 PM
Do you know what the definition of volume is?  Volume is the amount of space something occupies in three planes.  (Height, width, and length).  So if you know the height of something, the length of something, and the width of something you know what its volume is.  So with your problem, you should first be able to figure out the volume based upon the units and measurements you were provided.  Then you'll need to convert those units into liters using a conversion factor.  It may take a few different conversions, but you'll soon get to the right units.

Here's an example.  Let's say you had an object which was 2 square feet and you wanted to know what that was in square centimeters.  You would have to convert feet into cm.  Let's say that the following conversion factors were the only ones you could find;  1 ft = 12 in, and 1 in = 2.54 cm.  When figuring out the conversion you would write it out as fractions so that you can cancel the units out.  [(1ft)/(12in)][(1in)/(2.54cm)].  If you cancel out the units where appropriate, you'll get 1ft = (12*2.54)cm.  This then becomes 1ft = 30.48cm.  So you're halfway there.  You've figured out how to convert feet into centimeters.  Now you have to do the final conversion.  1 square foot is equal to one foot times one foot.  So if you take your conversion factor and multiply it by itself, you'll get [(1ft)/(30.48cm)][(1ft)/(30.48cm)] = 1ft2 = 929.03cm2.  If one square foot = 929.03 square centimeters, than two square feet is twice that.  So your final answer is that an object with an area of 2 square feet = 1858.06 square centimeters.  Now you should be able to tackle your original problem without much problem at all.  Post your answer here when you're done and we'll let you know how you did.  :D
Title: Re:changing volume into liters
Post by: dexangeles on January 28, 2005, 04:27:50 PM
you need yours in cubic centimeters though

hint: cubic centimeters (cc) = milliliter (ml)