Name: ______________________________________ Date: ________________________

Student Exploration: Measuring Volume

Vocabulary: cubic centimeter, diameter, graduated cylinder, meniscus, milliliter, pipette, radius,
rectangular prism, sphere, volume, water displacement

Prior Knowledge Question (Do this BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

Albert plays football. His sister Juliana plays volleyball. While
walking home from practice one day, Albert and Juliana argue about
which is bigger, a football or volleyball.

How would you measure and compare the sizes of the two balls? ________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

Gizmo Warm-up
When scientists talk about how big something is, they are really
talking about its volume, or the amount of space it takes up. The
Measuring Volume Gizmo allows you to measure the volumes of
liquids and solids using a variety of tools.

To begin, remove the 50-mL graduated cylinder from the cabinet

and place it below the faucet. To turn on the faucet, drag the slider
next to the faucet up. Fill the cylinder about halfway, as shown.

1. Place the magnifier over the waterline. Draw a sketch of what

you see in the area at right. Label the large tick marks on your
sketch.

What volume is represented by each small tick mark?

_______________________________________________

2. What is the shape of the waterline? ____________________________________________

This curved shape is called the meniscus. Always read the volume at the bottom of the
meniscus.

3. What is the volume of water in the graduated cylinder? __________

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 Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity A:
 Drag all objects to the cabinet.
Volume of liquids  Move the 25-mL graduated cylinder, the 250-mL
beaker, and the 2-mL pipette to the counter.

Introduction: Graduated cylinders are precise tools for measuring volume. Most graduated
cylinders are marked in milliliters. There are 1,000 milliliters in 1 liter (about two cups).

Goal: Fill a graduated cylinder with a given amount of water.

1. Prepare: Place the 250-mL beaker below the faucet and fill it with water. (Move the faucet
handle up to pour faster.) You will use the beaker as a source of water in your experiments.

2. Measure: To pour water from the beaker to the graduated

cylinder, move the beaker over the graduated cylinder. Add
about 15 mL of water to the graduated cylinder (does not have
to be exact).

Place the magnifier over the waterline, and sketch what you
see in the space at right. Label the large tick marks on your
sketch.

A. How many medium tick marks lie between two labeled tick marks? ______________

B. How much volume does each medium tick mark represent? ______________

C. How much volume does each small tick mark represent? ______________

D. Estimate the water volume in the graduated cylinder to the nearest 0.1 mL.

(Remember to read from the bottom of the curved meniscus.) ______________

3. Measure: Scientists use pipettes, also known as eyedroppers, to add or remove small
amounts of water. To fill the pipette, place its tip in the beaker water and click the black bulb
once.

To release a small amount of water, place the pipette above the graduated cylinder and click
the bulb. Do this until the graduated cylinder contains exactly 17.5 mL of water. (Remember
to read the volume at the bottom of the meniscus.)

4. Show your work: Open the Tools tab at lower left and click the camera ( ). Right-click the
screen shot, click Copy, and then paste the image into a blank document. Label the image
“17.5 mL.” When you are finished, print out this document and turn it in with this worksheet.

(Activity A continued on next page)

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Activity A (continued from previous page)

5. Practice: Use the Gizmo to complete each of the following challenges. When you have
finished each one, take a screen shot and add it to your document. Label each image with
the volume.

A. Fill the 25-mL graduated cylinder with 11.5 mL of water.

B. Fill the 100-mL graduated cylinder with 76.0 mL of water.

C. Fill the 50-mL graduated cylinder with 38.5 mL of water.

6. Think and discuss: Suppose you needed to measure exactly 15.0 mL of water for an
experiment. Which graduated cylinder would be the best one to use, and why?

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

7. Further practice: Select the Practice button. In this mode, the Gizmo will give you a series
of challenges. When you complete a challenge, click Submit. Click Reset if you would like
to start over or try a problem again. As you practice, the Gizmo will keep a tally of right and
wrong answers in the green and red circles.

Complete the first six challenges. Stop when you see the ruler and sphere (ball) on the
screen.

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 Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity B:  Select the Free Exploration mode.
 Return all items to the cabinet.
Regular solids
 Drag the block and the ruler to the counter.
 You will need a calculator for this activity.

Introduction: The volumes of regular solids, such as spheres (balls) and rectangular prisms
(blocks), can be determined by measuring their dimensions. The volume of a solid is usually
expressed in cubic centimeters (cm3). One cubic centimeter is exactly the same volume as
1 milliliter.

Goal: Measure and calculate the volume of a rectangular prism and a sphere.

1. Observe: Count the squares in the rectangle at right to find its area.

A. What is the area of the rectangle? ______________________

B. How does the area of the rectangle relate to the lengths of each side? ___________

___________________________________________________________________

2. Observe: A block is an example of a rectangular prism. A rectangular prism has six

rectangular faces. Look at the block shown below. Each cube inside the block has a 1-cm
side and a volume of 1 cm3, or 1 mL.

A. What are the length, width, and height of the block?

Length: _____ Width: _____ Height: _____

B. Multiply these three dimensions. What is the product of the

length, width, and height? __________

C. How many cubic centimeters are in the block? __________

3. Measure: Just as the area of a rectangle is the product of its length and width, the volume of
a rectangular prism is equal to the product of its length, width, and height. In the Gizmo,
place the ruler over the block.

A. What are the length, width, and height of the block?

Length: ________ Width: ________ Height: ________

B. What is the volume of the block? __________ (Write your answer to the nearest 0.1.)
1.

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