iv
act ity
2 Capacity
BROWARD COUNTY ELEMENTARY SCIENCE BENCHMARK PLAN
Grade 3—Quarter 1
Activity 2
SC.A.1.2.1
The student determines that the properties of materials (e.g., density and volume) can be
compared and measured (e.g., using rulers, balances, and thermometers).
E
S
U
SC.H.1.2.1
The student knows that it is important to keep accurate records and descriptions to provide
information and clues on causes of discrepancies in repeated experiments.
SC.H.1.2.2
The student knows that a successful method to explore the natural world is to observe and
record, and then analyze and communicate the results.
L
A
N
O
SC.H.1.2.4
The student knows that to compare and contrast observations and results is an essential
skill in science.
S
R
SC.H.3.2.2
The student knows that data are collected and interpreted in order to explain an event or
concept.
E
P
© Delta Education. Photocopying and distribution prohibited.
ACTIVITY ASSESSMENT OPPORTUNITIES
F
R
O
The following suggestions are intended to help identify major concepts covered in the activity
that may need extra reinforcement. The goal is to provide opportunities to assess student
progress without creating the need for a separate, formal assessment session (or activity) for
each of the 40 hands-on activities at this grade level.
1. Give students the following scenario: Two sisters, Lily, age 10, and Grace, age 5, are
playing in their kitchen at home. Phoebe has two jars. One jar is very tall and thin, and the
other is short and wide. She tells Lily that the tall jar must hold more water. Lily says,
“Let’s compare.” What tool will Lily need to compare the capacities of the two jars? (a
measuring cup) What steps will Lily take to show Phoebe which jar holds more water?
(Students should describe a procedure similar to the one used in this activity.) Can two
containers of different shapes have the same capacity? (Yes)
2. Use the Activity Sheet(s) to assess student understanding of the major concepts in the
activity.
In addition to the above assessment suggestions, the questions in bold and tasks that
students perform throughout the activity provide opportunities to identify areas that may
require additional review before proceeding further with the activity.
broward county hands-on science Quarter 1
41
R
O
F
42
activity 2 Capacity
E
P
© Delta Education. Photocopying and distribution prohibited.
S
R
N
O
L
A
E
S
U
iv
act ity
2 Capacity
OBJECTIVES
PREPARATION
In this activity, students find the capacity of
various containers using milliliters as the
metric standard unit of measure.
The students
operationally
1
Make a copy of Activity Sheet 2 for each
student.
2
Fill the pitchers with water and provide
newspaper to cover the work areas during
this experiment. Have paper towels handy
so students can wipe up any spills.
3
There are four pairs of containers in the
kit: two 7-oz cups, two 9-oz cups, two
dishes, and two vials. Label each pair with
a different letter from A to D. For example,
there should be two containers labeled A,
two labeled B, two labeled C, and two
labeled D.
define capacity
discuss
metric standard units for measuring
capacity
measure
the capacity of various containers
in metric standard units of milliliters
SCHEDULE
N
O
About 40 minutes
VOCABULARY
capacity
liter (L)
milliliter (mL)
MATERIALS
R
O
S
R
E
P
For each student
© Delta Education. Photocopying and distribution prohibited.
1
F
Activity Sheet 2
For each team of four
1
4
4
beaker, graduated, 800-mL
cups, paper, 180-mL
cups, plastic, 30-mL
For the class
8
1
containers, assorted (4 pairs)
cup, paper, 180-mL
newspaper*
paper towels*
8
pitchers*
1 roll tape, masking
water, tap*
*provided by the teacher
L
A
E
S
U
4
Each team of four will need four plastic
cups, four paper cups, one beaker, one
pitcher of water, and access to the
masking tape. Students will need to share
containers.
5
You will need to borrow a paper cup and a
graduated beaker from one of the groups
for a demonstration.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Capacity is the measure of the maximum
amount of material a container can hold.
Capacity in the metric system is usually
measured in liters, deciliters (1/10 of a liter), and
milliliters (1/1,000 of a liter). Capacity in the
customary system is measured in gallons,
quarts, pints, and fluid ounces.
This activity introduces students to the
milliliter; they use this metric standard unit to
measure the capacity of various containers.
broward county hands-on science Quarter 1
43
R
O
F
44
activity 2 Capacity
E
P
N
O
L
A
© Delta Education. Photocopying and distribution prohibited.
S
R
Activity Sheet 2
E
S
U
Guiding the Activity
1
Additional Information
Have students cover their work areas with
newspaper. Distribute a pitcher filled with
water, four plastic cups, and four paper cups
to each team. Tell students that they are
going to find out how much water the paper
cup can hold. Ask, What could you use as a
standard unit of measure?
Students should suggest counting the
number of cupfuls of water they pour from
the plastic cup into the paper cup until it is
full.
Have team members take turns pouring water
from the plastic cups and counting the number
of cupfuls it takes to fill the paper cup.
If the mouth of the pitcher is wide enough,
students can fill their plastic cups simply by
scooping up the water. If not, students will
have to pour the water from the pitcher
into their plastic cups. Remind students to
keep track of how many cups of water they
have added to the paper cup.
© Delta Education. Photocopying and distribution prohibited.
E
P
Write the word capacity on the board. Tell
students that they have found the capacity of
the paper cup in units of plastic cups. Ask,
How would you define capacity?
R
O
L
A
N
O
S
R
2
E
S
U
Ask, How can you find out how many plastic
cupfuls of water the paper cup can hold?
Ask, How many plastic cupfuls did it take to
fill your paper cup?
F
Students should suggest that the plastic
cup could be used as a standard unit of
measure because the plastic cups are of
uniform size and smaller than the paper
cups.
If students report discrepant amounts,
discuss possible sources of error, such as
not filling the plastic cups completely or
spilling some of the water.
The wording of students’ definitions is not
important so long as they recognize that
capacity is a measure of the largest amount
of something that a container can hold.
Write the word liter and its abbreviation (L)
on the board. Tell students that the liter is the
basic standard unit of capacity in the metric
system, just as the meter is the basic metric
standard unit of length.
Write the word milliliter and its abbreviation
(mL) on the board. Explain that a milliliter is
one thousandth of a liter.
Write 1 liter = 1000 mL on the board and tell
students that there are 1000 milliliters in 1 liter.
broward county hands-on science Quarter 1
45
Guiding the Activity
Additional Information
Refer to Figure 2-1 and draw the graduated
beaker on the board. Show students how to
read the milliliter scale.
N
O
S
R
3
46
E
P
Figure 2-1. An 800-milliliter graduated beaker.
Students should suggest filling the cup with
water, pouring the water into the graduated
beaker, and then reading the number of
milliliters of water on the scale.
Fill the paper cup with water and pour it into
the graduated beaker. Ask a volunteer to read
the number of milliliters of water in the
beaker using the milliliter scale. Write on the
board: capacity of paper cup = 180 mL.
The volunteer should read approximately
180 mL.
Give a copy of Activity Sheet 2 to each
student. Distribute a container and a
graduated beaker to each team. Show
students where to get masking tape. Tell
them they are going to use the beaker as a
measuring device to determine the capacity
of their containers in milliliters.
Have students record the letter on their
container in the first row of the chart on
their activity sheets.
Ask teams to first predict the capacity of their
containers in milliliters and record their
predictions on their activity sheets. Then
have them measure the capacity of their
containers by filling them with water and
Remind students to label their answers with
mL for milliliter.
R
O
F
activity 2 Capacity
© Delta Education. Photocopying and distribution prohibited.
Hold up a graduated beaker, point out the
scale on its side, and tell students that this
container measures capacity up to 800
milliliters. Hold up a paper cup and ask, How
could we use the graduated beaker to
measure the capacity of this cup?
L
A
E
S
U
Guiding the Activity
Additional Information
pouring the water into the beakers. Teams
should record their results in the box next to
the letter of their container.
Tell teams that when they have finished with
one container they should trade it for another
container labeled with a different letter.
Remind them to predict on the activity sheet
the container’s capacity, measure it, and
record the measurement.
R
O
© Delta Education. Photocopying and distribution prohibited.
4
F
L
A
E
S
U
N
O
S
R
E
P
Figure 2-2. Measuring capacity.
Have students record the letter of their new
container in the second row of the chart.
Compile the class results on the board in a
chart that lists the containers by letter and
the capacity of each one in number of
milliliters. Ask, Which container has the
largest capacity? Which one has the
smallest?
Have each team write the capacity of their
current container on a piece of masking tape
and stick this label on their container. Display
all the containers on the front desk and
challenge the class to order the containers by
capacity, from smallest to largest.
Using the data on the board, students
should say that the container with the
largest capacity is the one that holds the
greatest amount of water in milliliters; the
container with the smallest capacity is the
one that holds the least amount of water in
milliliters.
Some of the containers are identical and
thus will have the same capacities.
broward county hands-on science Quarter 1
47
CLEANUP
Set up an interest center with an varied
assortment of containers—thick- and thinwalled, short and tall. Provide a supply of
dried beans, rice, or popcorn kernels.
Encourage students to fill the various
containers with the material and use the
graduated beaker to measure and compare
their capacities.
SCIENCE JOURNALS
Pour the water in the pitchers and the
containers down the sink. Remove the
masking tape labels from the containers.
Dry the containers, beakers, paper cups,
and plastic cups; return them along with
the masking tape to the kit.
SCIENCE AT HOME
Have students place their completed activity
sheets in their science journals.
If students have metric measuring cups at
home, they can practice measuring the
capacity of various containers in their
kitchens. Remind students to first try to
predict the capacity of each container in
milliliters.
N
O
S
R
R
O
F
48
activity 2 Capacity
E
P
L
A
E
S
U
© Delta Education. Photocopying and distribution prohibited.
REINFORCEMENT
Connections
Science Challenge
Science and Math
Show the class three clear containers of
roughly the same capacity but very different
shapes—one shallow and wide (such as a
small, round baking dish or a shallow,
rectangular storage container), another tall
and narrow (such as a large, round olive jar),
and the third of a width and height
somewhere between the widths and heights
of the other two containers. (Measure the
capacities of the containers yourself
beforehand to make sure they are about the
same.) Ask students to predict which
container would hold the most water and to
explain why. Accept all responses without
comment. Then put the containers, an 800-mL
beaker, and a pitcher of water in a learning
center, and give each team an opportunity to
test their predictions. In a follow-up
discussion, ask students to describe and
explain their results. If students still doubt
that three containers of very different shapes
could have the same capacity, fill one with
water, pour the water into the second
container and then from that container into
the third container. Students should realize
that the capacity of a container does not
depend solely on how tall it is or how wide it
is or any other single dimension.
From their own experiences with containers
for soda, milk, and other beverages, students
may already be familiar with the English units
of capacity commonly used in the United
States. Let them use small and large Englishunit measuring cups and the metric beaker
from this activity to derive a list of
approximate English-to-metric equivalents.
For example, students could fill a small
(1-cup) measuring cup to the 8-ounce mark
with water, then pour the water into the
beaker to see how many milliliters that
equals. As needed, help students read the
metric measurements on the beaker and
write them in rounded numbers.
© Delta Education. Photocopying and distribution prohibited.
F
R
O
Science Extension
Provide students with a variety of containers
of different shapes and sizes, including
irregularly shaped ones such as small vases,
food jars, and the like. Let students use the
activity sheet procedure to predict and then
measure the capacity of each container. In
addition to water, students could use sand,
popcorn kernels, foam-plastic packaging
pellets, or other solid materials.
Science, Technology, and Society
N
O
S
R
E
P
L
A
E
S
U
Remind students that the United States is the
only major country in the world that uses the
English system of measurement rather than
the metric system in everyday life. Explain
that years ago, some groups of people tried
to convince the United States government to
convert the country to the metric system. As a
first step in that conversion process, food and
beverage producers began labeling
containers with both English and metric units.
The effort to convert completely to the metric
system was not successful. For example, our
road signs still give distances and speed
limits in miles, not kilometers. However, food
and beverage containers still contain both
English and metric labels. Encourage
students to examine such labels at home and
in a grocery store.
broward county hands-on science Quarter 1
49
R
O
F
50
activity 2 Capacity
E
P
© Delta Education. Photocopying and distribution prohibited.
S
R
N
O
L
A
E
S
U