3
How much can it hold?
Learner’s Book 1: Unit 12, pp. 168–171
GoalSay which container holds more and which holds less, and say what capacity means.
New words
capacity · how much a container can holdcontainer · something that can hold water, rice or sandfull · holds as much as it canempty · has nothing inside
Explanation
A jug, a bottle, a bucket and a cup are all containers. Capacity is how much a container can hold. A bucket can hold more water than a cup, so the bucket has a bigger capacity. The cup has a smaller capacity. A container is full when it cannot hold any more. It is empty when there is nothing inside. Be careful: a tall thin glass and a short wide bowl can look very different. We pour water from one to the other to check.
Worked examples
The teapot holds 6 small cups and the mug holds 2 small cups. The teapot holds more, so it has the bigger capacity.
To check which holds more, fill one container with rice and pour it into the other. If rice spills out, the second one holds less. If there is room left, it holds more.
A glass with no water in it is empty. A glass filled to the very top is full.
Class activity
Pouring game: find 5 containers (a cup, a bowl, a jug, a bottle, a tub). Guess which holds the most. Then use the small cup to scoop water into each one and count the cupfuls. Put the containers in order from most to least.
Practice
1
Which holds the most?
the tub
2
Which has the bigger capacity, a bath or an egg cup?
the bath
3
A jug has no water in it. Is it full or empty?
empty
4
Which holds less, the bottle or the jar?
the bottle