Math Problems for Converting Liquid Measuring to Metric

Europe uses the metric system.

Teaching children to convert metric liquid measurements to American standard measurements can be a challenging task. Instead of pushing your children to rote memorization of the conversions, write math word problems that they can use to remember how to convert the measurements and to remember basic conversions for the future.

Milliliters to Cups

Tommy wants to bake a cake and needs 500 ml of milk. If 250 ml equals 1 cup, how many cups of milk does Tommy need to purchase at the grocery store?

Liters to Gallons

John is hosting a dinner for 50 people and wants to make sure he has enough sparkling water for everyone to drink. He can purchase sparkling water by the liter at the grocery store. If John wants to have at least one gallon of sparkling water for every 5 people, how many liters of water does he need to buy? For this problem, you will need to know that 1 gallon is equal to 4 liters.

Milliliters to Fluid Ounces

Julie is sauteeing vegetables and needs about 50 ml of oil to pour over her roasted potatoes. About how many fluid ounces is equal to 50 ml? For this problem, you will need to know that 60 ml is equivalent to 2 fluid ounces.

Milliters to Teaspoons

Mary is making coffee and wants to add just a dash or two of vanilla syrup to the top of her coffee. How many teaspoons should she add if she wants to add the equivalent of 7 milliliters. For this problem, you will need to know that 5 milliters is equal to about 1 teaspoon.

References

• Science of Cooking: Measurement Equivalents