A litre is a unit of volume used to measure liquids such as water, milk or petrol. The symbol for litre is \( \large L \).

 

 

Relation to cubic metre

 

One litre corresponds to one cubic decimetre:

 

$$ \large 1 \text{ L} = 1 \text{ dm}^3 $$

$$ \large 1000 \text{ L} = 1 \text{ m}^3 $$

 

This means that one litre is equal to the volume of a cube where each side is \( \large 10 \text{ cm} \).

 

 

Derived units

 

Just like metre and gram, litre can have prefixes that indicate smaller or larger amounts:

 

Factor	Name	Symbol	Unit
\( \large 0.001 \)	Millilitre	mL	\( \large 1 \text{ mL} = 0.001 \text{ L} \)
\( \large 0.01 \)	Centilitre	cL	\( \large 1 \text{ cL} = 0.01 \text{ L} \)
\( \large 0.1 \)	Decilitre	dL	\( \large 1 \text{ dL} = 0.1 \text{ L} \)
\( \large 1 \)	Litre	L	\( \large 1 \text{ L} = 1 \text{ L} \)
\( \large 10 \)	Decalitre	daL	\( \large 1 \text{ daL} = 10 \text{ L} \)
\( \large 100 \)	Hectolitre	hL	\( \large 1 \text{ hL} = 100 \text{ L} \)
\( \large 1000 \)	Kilolitre	kL	\( \large 1 \text{ kL} = 1000 \text{ L} \)

 

 

Examples

 

• A water bottle often contains \( \large 0.5 \text{ L} \).
• A milk carton contains \( \large 1 \text{ L} \).
• A car’s fuel tank can hold about \( \large 50 \text{ L} \).