Question

Pepsi puts 355 ml of pop in a can. How many cubic meters is this?

Answer 1

`3.55 xx 10^(-4)m^3`

Explanation:

One can of pop is obviously a tiny fraction of a cubic metre, (which is similar in size to a cubic yard).

If you change to a smaller unit, the number gets bigger,
If you change to a bigger unit, the number gets smaller.

However, in this case we are working with 2 difference types of units = volume measured in cubic lengths, and capacity measured in millilitres, litres and Kilolitres

The conversions you need to know are:

`1kl = 1000 litre" and " 1 litre = 1000ml`

`1Kl = 1m^3" "1 litre = 1dm^3 " "1ml = 1cm^3`

The conversion factor for these is `1000`

`355 ml = 355 cm^3`

`"from "cm^3 to m^3" you need to " div 1000 div 1000`

`(355 cm^3)/(1000xx1000) = 355 xx 10^(-3) xx 10^(-3) m^3`

=`3.55 xx 10^2 xx 10^(-6)m^3`

=`3.55 xx 10^(-4)m^3`

Because it is such a small fraction, scientific notation is better than a decimal of `0.000355m^3`