This is a common question for people who are trying to translate fluid ounces (oz) to milliliters (mL). Knowing the conversion can be useful in cooking, mixing drinks, medicine dosing, and more.
Quick Answer
There are approximately 591 mL in a 20 oz bottle.
The Detailed Answer
To find out how many milliliters are in 20 ounces, we first need to know the conversion rate between ounces and milliliters:
- 1 oz = 29.5735 mL
So if we take 20 oz and multiply it by the conversion factor:
- 20 oz x 29.5735 mL/oz = 591.47 mL
By convention, we round to the nearest whole number, so there are approximately 591 mL in 20 oz.
Showing the Math Step-by-Step
Let’s walk through the calculation step-by-step:
- Start with 20 oz
- The conversion rate is:
- 1 oz = 29.5735 mL
- To convert 20 oz to mL, multiply by the conversion factor:
- 20 oz x 29.5735 mL/oz
- Multiply it out:
- 20 x 29.5735 = 591.47 mL
- Round to the nearest whole number:
- 591.47 mL rounds to 591 mL
So 20 oz converts to approximately 591 mL when you multiply by the conversion factor between oz and mL.
Checking the Answer
We can double check our calculation using Google’s unit converter tool. If we type in “20 ounces to ml”, it also shows that 20 oz is equivalent to 591 mL.
So our manual calculation matches Google’s converter, confirming that there are approximately 591 mL in 20 oz.
Converting Milliliters to Ounces
We can also use the unit conversion rate to go from milliliters to ounces:
- 1 oz = 29.5735 mL
Be careful not to flip this conversion rate around. To go from mL to oz, we need to divide by 29.5735 instead of multiplying.
So if we had 591 mL, to convert to oz we would calculate:
- 591 mL / 29.5735 mL/oz = 20 oz
This confirms that 591 mL converts to 20 oz when you divide by the conversion factor instead of multiplying.
Converting Other Volumes
Now that we know the basic conversion rate between oz and mL, we can use it to convert any volume back and forth.
For example, to convert 10 oz to mL:
- 10 oz x 29.5735 mL/oz = 295.735 mL
To convert 295.735 mL to oz:
- 295.735 mL / 29.5735 mL/oz = 10 oz
This demonstrates how the unit conversion rate allows you to quickly translate any oz amount to mL, or vice versa.
Converting Cups to Milliliters
In cooking, you’ll also commonly see liquid volumes measured in cups. Here are some conversion rates between cups and milliliters:
| Cups | Milliliters |
|---|---|
| 1 cup | 236.588 mL |
| 1/2 cup | 118.294 mL |
| 1/3 cup | 78.863 mL |
| 1/4 cup | 59.148 mL |
To convert any cup amount to mL, you would multiply by one of these conversion factors. For example:
- 2 cups x 236.588 mL/cup = 473.176 mL
Going the other way:
- 473.176 mL / 236.588 mL/cup = 2 cups
Milliliter Equivalents of Common Liquid Containers
Here is a table showing the approximate milliliter equivalents of some common liquid containers:
| Container | Milliliters |
|---|---|
| 12 oz soda can | 355 mL |
| 16 oz water bottle | 473 mL |
| 20 oz bottle | 591 mL |
| 24 oz bottle | 710 mL |
| 2-liter soda bottle | 2000 mL |
| 12 oz coffee cup | 340 g |
This gives you a handy reference for picturing milliliter amounts in everyday containers.
Metric Conversions
The milliliter is part of the metric system, along with other units like grams and meters. Here are some other common metric conversions:
- 1000 mL = 1 L (liter)
- 1000 g = 1 kg (kilogram)
- 100 cm = 1 m (meter)
Learning these basic conversions can help when working with metric recipes or measurements.
Why Different Units for Volume?
With all these different units, you may wonder why we don’t just stick to one universal measurement for volume. Here are some reasons why different volume units exist:
- History and culture – Units like cups and ounces arose in history out of convenience for daily tasks. Standardization came later.
- Different contexts – Ounces make sense for drinking glasses. Cups work well in cooking. mL and L fit scientific measurement.
- Ease of use – Humans relate better to cups or ounces than large mL amounts.
- Precision – mL allows more precise measurement for science, medicine, etc.
So while metric units like mL provide precise, standardized measurements, other units are still useful for simplicity and convenience in everyday situations.
Tips for Converting Units
Here are some tips when converting between ounces, cups, milliliters, etc:
- Memorize the basic conversion rates like 1 oz = 29.5735 mL
- Keep a printed chart handy for reference
- Double check your calculations, especially when dividing vs multiplying
- Use a unit converter app or website to verify conversions
- Round to whole numbers for simplicity
With practice, you’ll get the hang of translations between different volume units and be able to move seamlessly between them for cooking, measurements, mixing drinks and more.
Key Takeaways
- There are approximately 591 mL in 20 oz
- Use the conversion: 1 oz = 29.5735 mL
- Multiply to convert oz to mL; divide to go from mL to oz
- Cups, ounces, liters and milliliters are common volume units
- Memorize the basic conversion rates and use a converter app to check
Understanding volume equivalencies allows you to translate cooking measurements, mix proper drinks, and know how much liquid is in containers. Knowing a few key conversion rates between units makes conversions straightforward. So next time you see a 20 oz bottle, you can instantly know it contains close to 591 mL of liquid.
