Volume
You have volume. Volume is the space you take up.
Volume and Shape
Volume does not have anything to do with shape.
Every time you move, you change your shape. But your volume only changes when grow taller or gain or lose weight.
You could also change volume if you were to grow shorter or shrink. Do kids ever shrink? _____________
Other things have volume too, Think of an egg.
An egg takes up a certain amount
of space so it has volume.
But an egg can change shape. It always changes shape when
you break it.
But it does not change volume when you break it.
Think of the shape of round balloons and a long, skinny
balloon.
Does
the shape have anything to do with the volume of the balloons? _____________
Volume and Weight
Volume does not have anything to do with weight, either.
Think of two balloons. One of the balloons, a yellow one,
is larger than the red one. 
They probably have very close to the same weight. But one balloon has much more volume than the other balloon. Which one has more volume, the red balloon or the yellow balloon. _______________
Now think of a suitcase. The suitcase has volume. If you fill the suitcase with rocks, which suitcase has more weight, the empty suitcase or the full suitcase? _________________________
Which suitcase has more volume? ________________________
Both suitcases have the same volume even though the full suitcase weights much more than the empty suitcase.
Check Out Volume
Lets check out the volume of several things from the kitchen. First you need permission from your mom. Then you need a ballpoint pen.
Now
find an unbreakable container.
You can use an empty milk carton or an empty ice
cream container.
Rinse out your container. If you use a milk container, open it up as wide as possible.
Now gather some fruit and vegetables. Some good ones would be:
Grapes
Tomatoes
Onions
You might get two onions, one large onion and one small onion. If you don't have the right fruits and vegetables, use other ones, such as an apple or a pear or potato. You can even use an egg if you are very, very careful not to break the egg.
By the way, is an egg a fruit or vegetable? __________________
We are using fruits and vegetables because everything we use will get wet. We only want to use things that will not be hurt if they get wet.
Before you start, answer these two questions:
1. Which fruit or vegetable do you think will have the largest volume? ______________
2. Which one do you think will have the smallest volume? ______________
Fill your container about one-half full of water. Add the grapes to the water, making certain that you have enough water to cover the grapes. Now mark the outside of the container where the water stops. Mark it with a line and a "G" for grapes.
Carefully remove the grapes without spilling any water.
Now add the tomato. Mark the container with a line and a "T." Remove the grapes. Again, do not spill water.
Now add the small onion. Mark the container with a line and a "SO," then carefully remove the small onion.
Then add the large onion. Mark the container with a line and a "LO" Remove the large onion without spilling water.
Keep adding and removing different items as long as you wish.
Which one has the largest volume? ________________ This will be the one that has the highest mark on your container.
Which one has the smallest volume? ________________ This will be the one that has the ________________ mark on your container?
Look at your answers in number one and two above. Did you guess correctly? ___________________
If you have a peanut, put it in the water. Can you measure the volume of the peanut this way? _____________
Why not? ___________________________________________________________________________
We could measure the volume of the other items because they sink and are covered by water. We cannot measure the peanut because it _______________________.
A peanut floats!
If you are not sure of some of the answers, ask your parents. If your parents are not sure, take it to school tomorrow and ask your teacher.
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