Converting Fluid Ounces to Milliliters

This example problem demonstrates how to convert fluid ounces to milliliters. Fluid ounces are a common U.S. liquid measure. Milliliters are a metric unit of volume. 

Fluid Ounces to Milliliters Example Problem

A soda can contains 12 fluid ounces of soda. What is this volume in milliliters?

Solution

First, start out with the conversion formula between fluid ounces and milliliters:

1 fluid ounce = 29.57 milliliters

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

Volume in milliliters = (volume in fluid ounces) x (29.57 milliliters/1 fluid ounce.)

Volume in milliliters = (12 x 29.57) milliliters

Volume in milliliters = 354.84 milliliters

Answer

A 12 fluid ounce soda can contains 354.82 milliliters.

It's always a good idea to check your answer to make sure it makes sense. An answer in milliliters will be about 30 times the value in fluid ounces. If you're doing the conversion the other way, expect the value in ounces to be much smaller (one decimal point) than it was in milliliters.