How to Calculate Volume in Litres

Co-authored by Grace Imson, MA

Last Updated: April 30, 2024 Fact Checked

A liter (or litre) is a metric unit used to measure volume or capacity.^{[1]
X
Research source} Liters are a common measurement often used to measure beverages and other liquids, such as a 2 liter bottle of soda. Sometimes you will need to calculate the volume of an object in liters, given the object's dimensions. In other instances, you will need to convert the volume of something that is already given in another unit, such as milliliters or gallons. In all of these instances, through simple multiplication or division, you can easily determine volume in liters.

Calculating Volume in Litres or Liters

"Litre" and "liter" are alternate spellings for the same unit, used to measure the volume of liquids. To calculate volume, multiply the dimensions of the shape to be filled. Then convert your answer from cubic units to liters.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Finding Volume in Liters from Dimensions

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1
Convert the dimensions to centimeters. If the dimensions are given in meters, inches, feet, or some other unit of measurement,
convert each dimension to centimeters (cm) before calculating the volume.
This will make it easier to convert to liters.
- Always double-check that the dimensions of the shape you're working with have the same unit before you calculate the volume.^{[2]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Grace Imson, MA
  Math Instructor, City College of San Francisco
  
  Expert Interview. 1 November 2019.}
Key Conversions
1 meter = 100 centimeters.^{[3]
X
Research source} So, if the length of a cube is 2.5 meters, that converts to 250 centimeters, since $2.5\times 100=250$ .
1 inch = 2.54 centimeters.^{[4]
X
Research source} So, if the length of a cube is 5 inches, that converts to 12.7 centimeters, since $5\times 2.54=12.7$ .
1 foot = 30.48 centimeters.^{[5]
X
Research source} So, if the length of a cube is 3 feet, that converts to 91.44 centimeters, since $3\times 30.48=91.44$ .
2
Find the volume of the shape. How you find the volume will depend on the shape of the three-dimensional object you are measuring, since the volume of each type of shape is calculated differently. To find the volume of a cube, you can use the formula
${\text{Volume}}={\text{Length}}\times {\text{Width}}\times {\text{Height}}$ .
^{[6]
X
Expert Source

Grace Imson, MA
Math Instructor, City College of San Francisco

Expert Interview. 1 November 2019.} The volume of a three-dimensional shape will be in cubic units, such as cubic centimeters ( $cm^{3}$ $cm^{{3}}$ ).
- For instance, if a fish tank is 40.64 cm long, 25.4 cm wide, and 20.32 tall you would calculate the volume by multiplying these dimensions together: ${\text{Volume}}={\text{Length}}\times {\text{Width}}\times {\text{Height}}$
  ${\text{Volume}}=40.64\times 25.4\times 20.32$
  ${\text{Volume}}=20,975cm^{3}$
- To find the volume of a cylinder, start by finding the height $h$ of the cylinder. Then, find the radius of the circle at the top or bottom. Next, find the area of the circle, which you can find with the formula π $r^{2}$ , where r is the radius. Finally, multiply the area of the circle by the height of the cylinder to find the volume. ${\text{Volume}}$ _cylinder $=$ π $r^{2}h$ ^{[7]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Grace Imson, MA
  Math Instructor, City College of San Francisco
  
  Expert Interview. 1 November 2019.}
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3
Convert cubic centimeters to liters. To do this, use the conversion rate
$1\;{\text{liter}}=1,000cm^{3}$ .
Dividing the volume (in cubic centimeters) of the shape by 1,000 will give you the volume in liters (L).^{[8]
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Research source}
- If the volume of the fish tank, in cubic centimeters, is 20,975, to find the volume in liters, calculate $20,975\div 1,000=20.975$ . So, a fish tank that is 40.64 cm long, 25.4 cm wide, and 20.32 tall has a volume of 20.975 L.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Converting Liters from other Metric Units

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1
Convert milliliters to liters. There are
1,000 milliliters (mL) in 1 liter (L).
So, to convert milliliters to liters, you would divide the number of milliliters by 1,000.^{[9]
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Research source}
- If the volume of a carton of almond milk is 1,890 mL, to convert to liters, you would calculate $1,890mL\div 1,000=1.89L$ .
2
Convert centiliters to liters. There are
100 centiliters (cL) in 1 liter.
So, to convert centiliters to liters, you would divide the number of centiliters by 100.^{[10]
X
Research source}
- If a the volume of a carton of almond milk is 189 cL, to convert to liters, you would calculate $189cL\div 100=1.89L$ .
3
Convert deciliters to liters. There are
10 deciliters (dL) in 1 liter.
So, to convert deciliters to liters, you would divide the number of deciliters by 10.^{[11]
X
Research source}
- If a the volume of a carton of almond milk is 18.9 dL, to convert to liters, you would calculate $18.9dL\div 10=1.89L$ .
4
Convert kiloliters to liters. There are
1000 liters in 1 kiloliter (kl).
So, to convert kiloliters to liters, you would multiply the number of kiloliters by 1,000.^{[12]
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Research source}
- If the volume of a kiddie pool is 240 kl, to convert to liters, you would calculate $240kl\times 1000=240,000L$ .
5
Convert hectoliters to liters. There are
100 liters in 1 hectoliter (hl).
So, to convert hectoliters to liters, you would multiply the number of hectoliters by 100.^{[13]
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Research source}
- If the volume of a kiddie pool is 2,400 hl, to convert to liters, you would calculate $2,400hl\times 100=240,000L$ .
6
Convert decaliters to liters. There are
10 liters in 1 decaliters (dal).
So, to convert decaliters to liters, you would multiply the number of decaliters by 10.^{[14]
X
Research source}
- If the volume of a kiddie pool is 24,000 dal, to convert to liters, you would calculate $24,000dal\times 10=240,000L$ .

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Converting Liters from Imperial Units

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1
Convert fluid ounces to liters. There are
33.81 fluid ounces (fl oz) in 1 liter.
So, to convert fluid ounces to liters, you would divide the number of fluid ounces by 33.81.^{[15]
X
Research source}
- If a carton of almond milk is 128 fl oz, to convert to liters, you would calculate $128fl\;oz\div 33.81=3.786L$ .
2
Convert pints to liters. There are
2.113 fluid pints (fl pt) in 1 liter.
So, to convert fluid pints to liters, you would divide the number of fluid pints by 2.113.^{[16]
X
Research source}
- If a pitcher has a capacity of 8 fl pt, to convert to liters, you would calculate $8fl\;pt\div 2.113=3.786L$ .
3
Convert quarts to liters. There are
1.057 quarts (qt) in 1 liter.
So, to convert quarts to liters, you would divide the number quarts of by 1.057.^{[17]
X
Research source}
- If a pitcher has a capacity of 4 quarts, to convert to liters, you would calculate $4qt\div 1.057=3.784L$ .
4
Convert gallons to liters. There are
3.7854 liters in 1 gallon (gal).
So, to convert gallons to liters, you would multiply the number gallons of by 3.7854.^{[18]
X
Research source}
- If a fish tank has a volume of 120 gallons, to convert to liters, you would calculate $120gal\times 3.7854=454.248L$ .

Practice Problems

Practice Problems to Calculate Volume in Liters

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Question

How do you convert litres into cubed centimeters?

Community Answer

You can use the conversion 1 liter = 1,000 cubic centimeters. To convert from liters to cubic centimeters, you would multiply by 1,000. For example, if a cube has a volume of 34 liters, to find the volume in cubic centimeters, multiply by 1,000: 34 x 1,000 = 34,000 cubic centimeters.

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Question

How do I covert liters to meters?

Donagan

Top Answerer

There are 1,000 liters in a cubic meter. So divide the number of liters by 1,000 to convert to cubic meters.

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Question

I'm building a round pool, 5 m diameter and 1.5 m deep. How many liters is it?

Donagan

Top Answerer

Find the volume in cubic meters (πr²h). Multiply that number by 1,000.

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