Important Information! When liquids are poured into a graduated cylinder they will not form a straight line. They will instead form a curved line that is called a meniscus. Hint: Draw a simple diagram to illustrate the curve of the meniscus.

When taking measurement readings it is important that the reading is done properly. The following rules must be followed in order to accurately read the volume from a graduated cylinder: 1) Put the cylinder on a flat surface. 2) Read the meniscus at eye level. Do not read the meniscus from above or below eye level as significant measurement errors may occur. 3) Read the volume from the bottom of the meniscus.

The bottom of this meniscus is between 6.0 and 6.2 mL. The correct reading is 6.1 mL. How much fluid is in this graduated cylinder?

Let’s read some volumes together! 35.0 ml 6.61 ml 52.8 ml