How to explain capacity in converting capacity & time to your child
27 October 2026
When your child is learning about capacity, it helps to show how we can change between different units, like litres and millilitres. Understanding this is important for real-life situations, such as reading drinks labels or measuring ingredients.
Worked example
A bottle holds 3 litres of water. How many millilitres is that?
Step 1: Remember that 1 litre equals 1000 millilitres.
Step 2: Multiply 3 litres by 1000.
3 × 1000 = 3000
The bottle holds 3000 millilitres of water.
Now your child can see how to convert litres to millilitres by multiplying by 1000. This skill will help them with similar questions in their 11+ practice.
