Page 436 - Basic College Mathematics with Early Integers

S E C T I O N 5.6 I CAPACITY: U.S. AND METRIC SYSTEMS OF MEASUREMENT 413

This means that we move the decimal point 3 places to the right to convert from
liters to milliliters.

2.600 L=2600. ml
This same conversion can be done with unit fractions.

2.6 L
2.6 L = # 1
1
2.6 L 1000 ml
= #
1 1L
#
= 2.6 1000 ml
= 2600 ml To multiply by 1000, move the decimal point 3 places to the right.
To visualize the result, study the diagram below:

2.6 L

1000 ml 1000 ml 600 ml 2600 ml

Thus, 2.6 L = 2600 ml.

Example 6 Convert 3210 ml to liters. PRACTICE 6

Convert 2100 ml to liters.
Solution: Let’s use the unit fraction method first.

Unit fraction
2
3210 ml 1 L
3210 ml = # 1 = 3210 ml # = 3.21 L
1 1000 ml
Now let’s list the unit measures in order from left to right and move from milliliters
to liters.

kl hl dal L dl cl ml

3 units to the left
3210 ml=3.210 L, the same results as before and
shown below in the diagram.
3 places to the left
1000 ml 1000 ml 1000 ml

210 ml
3210 ml

1 L 1 L 1 L 0.210 L 3.210 L
Work Practice 6

Answer
6. 2.1 L