VOLUME CONVERSION FROM GALLONS TO LITERS - The liter is the metric volume unit, while the gallon is the English unit. However, the American gallon and the British gallon are not the same! The gallon used in the United States is equal to exactly 231 cubic inches or 3.785411784 liters. The Imperial gallon or UK gallon is equal to approximately 277.42 cubic inches. Keep this in mind: there are about 4 liters per US gallon.

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Volume Conversion From Gallons To Liters

Converting Gallons to Liters

Worked Volume Unit Conversion Example Problem

by Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

This example problem demonstrates how to convert gallons to liters.

Gallons and liters are two common units of volume.

The liter is the metric volume unit, while the gallon is the English unit.

However, the American gallon and the British gallon are not the same! 

The gallon used in the United States is equal to exactly 231 cubic inches or 3.785411784 liters.

The Imperial gallon or UK gallon is equal to approximately 277.42 cubic inches.

If you're asked to perform the conversion, make sure you know which country it's for or you won't get the correct answer.

This example uses the American gallon, but the set-up for the problem works the same for the Imperial gallon (just using 277.42 instead of 3.785).

Key Takeaways: Gallons to Liters

·       The unit conversion between (American) gallons and liters is 1 gallon = 3.785 liters.

·       British and American gallons are not the same. The American gallon is a smaller unit of volume and has a different conversion factor.

·       There are about four liters per gallon.

Gallons to Liters Problem

What is the volume of a 5 gallon bucket in liters?

Solution

1 gallon = 3.785 liters

Set up the conversion so the desired unit will be cancelled out. In this case, we want liters to be the remaining unit.

volume in L = (volume in gal) x (3.785 L/1 gal)

volume in L = (5 x 3.785) L

volume in L = 18.925 L

In other word, there are about 4x more liters when you convert from gallons.

Answer

A 5 gallon bucket contains 18.925 liters.

Liters to Gallon Conversion

You can use the same conversion factor to convert liters to gallons or you can use:

1 liter = 0.264 US gallons

To find how many gallons are in 4 liters, for example:

gallons = 4 liters x 0.264 gallons/liter

The liters cancel out, leaving the gallon unit:

4 liters = 1.056 gallons

Keep this in mind: there are about 4 liters per US gallon.

Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

·   Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville - Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

·   Science educator with experience teaching chemistry, biology, astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels.

·   ThoughtCo and About Education chemistry expert since 2001.

·   Widely-published graphic artist, responsible for printable periodic tables and other illustrations used in science.

Experience

Anne Helmenstine, Ph.D. has covered chemistry for ThoughtCo and About Education since 2001, and other sciences since 2013. She taught chemistry, biology, astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels. She has worked as a research scientist and also abstracting and indexing diverse scientific literature for the Department of Energy.

In addition to her work as a science writer, Dr. Helmenstine currently serves as a scientific consultant, specializing in problems requiring an interdisciplinary approach. Previously, she worked as a research scientist and college professor. 

Education

Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a B.A. in physics and mathematics with a minor in chemistry from Hastings College. In her doctoral work, Dr. Helmenstine developed ultra-sensitive chemical detection and medical diagnostic tests.

Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

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https://www.thoughtco.com/converting-gallons-to-liters-609387