Capacity and Volume Some activities for the Primary years

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Capacity and Volume

Some activities for

the Primary years

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Capacity

Capacity:- The amount that a container can hold. The inside space is therefore measured. The standard measure used is litres.

A useful starting point for group/class activities is to focus on containers. A collection of containers would make a useful display and could form the basis for discussions and practical tasks.

Think about providing:

a) containers which belong to the same ‘shape family’ but with different capacities, b) containers which have approximately the same capacity and are similar shapes,

c) containers which have approximately the same capacity but are all different shapes, d) containers which have different shapes and different capacities.

(It might prove useful to make up four ‘collections’, as described above, to enable children to focus on specific aspects of containers, their shapes, and capacities.)

Other materials which will prove useful

junk materials, strong plastic containers, marbles, beads, bricks, small cubes, pasta, sand, rice, peas, water, measuring jugs, bowls, large trays, scoops, clixilpolydron and card.

Throughout activities, aim to develop children’s estimation and ordering skills.

Using Clixi/Polydron

1. Using up to 10 pieces for each, make

two

different containers with lids

2. . Guess which holds more.

Use

two

different methods to

find

out.

2. Make a container, with a lid, to keep one of these toys in.

Try

to make a ‘snug’

fit.

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3. Make a container which is a different shape, but which will have approximately

the same capacity as this bottle or tub.

4. Can

you make

two

different containers that will each have a capacity of

approximately 500 cubic centimetres?

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Using Junk materials

1. Estimate first, then put the bottles in order by capacity.

2. Use another method to put the boxes in order by capacity. Do any hold the same

amount?

3. Can you make another container which looks a different

shape but which has approximately the same capacity as

this tub?

4. Five of these containers have approximately

the same capacity. One container has

-

a different capacity. Which one is the odd one

out?

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Which holds the most?

My guess

holds most

holds least

We found out

holds most

holds least

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Which is the odd one out?

Draw the six containers and put a ring around the odd one out.

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Using paper and card

1. Using 2cm squared paper, make an open box which has a capacity of 12 multilink

cubes.

How many different shaped boxes could you make which would each have a capacity

of 12 multilink cubes?

Compare the size of a centicube (1cm cube) to a multilink cube (2cm cube). How

many centicubes could your ‘12’ box hold?

2. Using a sheet of A4 card construct an open box. (You may use scissors, glue or

sellotape to help.)

Can you make the box which holds the most?

3. Design and construct a container (which must close in some way) to hold one of the

objects in front of you. The object should fit snugly inside your box. Try to make your

container as unusual, and attractive, as possible.

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Which holds the most?

Materials:

Identical pieces of

card.

Sellotape

Making:

Take one sheet of card and make a

container

Sellotape it so there is not overlap.

(Do you want a base or a lid?)

*

How many other kinds of containers can

you make?

(Remember, use only one sheet of card for each)

Predicting:

*

Order your containers according to which holds the most.

Testing:

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Developing the idea:

Cut one sheet of card in half.

Make

two

identical containers.

Now take another sheet and make a

large container the same shape.

*

which holds the most, the two small

containers or the one large

*

What would happen if you halved the sheet this

way?

*

What would happen if you divided the sheet up

into four?

EXPERIMENT

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Design

and

Construction

bag will hold.

Take a sheet of paper,

e.g. 84 x

59 cm

Decide what item your bag will hold

Contact a manufacturer - for information

- for a market Design a carrier bag for

a specific object. Think about: - seams - handles - strength - folding for storage

Make one - note the faults

Test for strength

Redesign

Make them for sale

-

cost of paper

-

labour

--

best value for money

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Volume

Volume:

The measurement of the space occupied by a solid object. The standard

measure used is cubic centimetres/metres.

a) Children need many, varied, activities to develop an understanding of conserving

volume. Plasticine. multilink and centicubes are useful materials for this purpose.

b) Activities should not focus exclusively on the construction, or observation, of cuboids

as children could make mental links that volume is only concerned with the

measurement of cuboids.

c) When appropriate, children need time to investigate the relationships between capacity

and volume in order to make sense of displacement activities.

d) For some children, links can be made between formulas for area of plane shapes and

formulas for volumes of prisms.

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Using Multilink

1. Building Cuboids

you can to the size of your box.

Record your multilink cuboid on the paper of your choice. Using the same amount of multilink build a different cuboid. Record this cuboid on the paper of your Choose a cuboid box from the collection. Using multilink, build a cuboid as near as choice.

Experiment to find out how many different cuboids you can make, using the same amount of multilink each time.

What is different about all your cuboids? What is the same about all your cuboids?

2. Build yourself a collection of 4 cuboids. Each cuboid should use a different amount of cubes.

Which cuboid has the greatest volume? Which cuboid has the least volume? 3. Multilink Animals

Make an animal using no more than 10 Multilirik cubes. Make a different animal with the same volume.

Compare the animals.

Make an animal with twice the volume of the first.

Make an animal which is an enlargement of the first, but twice every length. Is it twice the original volume?

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4. Multilink Cuboids

Using 24 Multilink cubes each time, make as many different solid cuboids as possible. Record and name the cuboids on paper of your choice.

Choose one of the cuboids as your original and build three more solid cuboids by.

halving 1 dimension of your original, halving 2 dimensions of your original and, halving three dimensions of your original.

Compare the volumes of the four solids.

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Using Card or Paper

1. Halving Dimensions

Choose a cuboid box from the selection available. Using card or paper of your choice, make...

a) a box which has halved one dimension of the original; b) a box which has halved two dimensions of the original

and

c) a box which has halved three dimensions of the original.

What has happened to the volume of each box in comparison to the original box?

2. Twice/Half the Size

Choose a box from the selection.

Using card or paper of your choice, make a box which is either twice the size, or half the size of the original.

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Developing relationships between capacity and volume

The link between volume and capacity can be

demonstrated by water displacement of

irregular objects. Such work will only be meaningful to children if they have had

opportunity to investigate the relationship between

1 litre of water and

1000 cubes

(cm).

An open plastic cube measuring 10cm x 10cm x 10cm may be filled with centimetre cubes and the capacity/volume recorded as 1000 cm3 (The identical size cube can be constructed adjacent to the plastic cube to show that the capacity and volume are the same except for the amount of plastic.)

If the centimetre cubes are removed, the children can measure the capacity of the plastic cube using a graduated litre measure.

The discovery that 1 litre of water has the same volume (capacity) as 1000 cm3 is a very important one. Through further experimentation the children could also discover a relationship between water, cm3 and grammes.