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Kitchen 3-5 / Week 10 / Wednesday
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Week 10 · Cook for a Crowd

Wednesday

Kitchen Lab: Spoons in a cup
// Scale it up, scale it down
⏱ about 15 min

Wednesday: Kitchen Lab: Spoons in a Cup

Lizzy the Lizard sets out a tablespoon, a teaspoon and a 1/4 cup.

"Bennie says a cup holds 16 tablespoons," she says. "Can we test part of it?"

"What do you notice about the 1/4 cup?" Ferris asks. "It is one fourth of a cup."

Riley fills a spoon with water. "Here is a hint," he says. "Count every spoonful."

Where 16 comes from

1 cup is exactly 8 fluid ounces.

1 tablespoon is exactly one half of a fluid ounce.

So each fluid ounce holds 2 tablespoons. 8 times 2 is 16.

That means 1 cup holds 16 tablespoons. Today you test one fourth of it.

  • A tablespoon and a teaspoon
  • A 1/4 dry measuring cup
  • A liquid measuring cup
  • A cup of water and a towel
  • A pencil and paper
Safety first
This lab uses no heat and nothing sharp.
Wipe up spills right away so nobody slips.
  1. Fill the teaspoon with water. Pour it into the tablespoon.
  2. Keep going until the tablespoon is full. Count the teaspoons.
  3. Now fill the tablespoon and pour it into the 1/4 cup.
  4. Keep going until the 1/4 cup is full. Count the tablespoons.
  5. Pour water into the liquid cup up to the 1 cup line. Read it at eye level.
  6. Find the 8 fluid ounce mark if your cup has one.
TestMy count
Teaspoons to fill 1 tablespoon
Tablespoons to fill 1/4 cup
Fluid ounce mark at 1 cup

Copy this table on paper. Fill it in as you test.

MAKE A PREDICTION
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
1 cup holds 16 tablespoons. How many tablespoons fill 1/4 cup?

Look at your results

Spoons can spill a little, so your count may be close but not exact.

If you counted about 4, your test matches the math.

How many tablespoons fill 1/2 cup?
How many teaspoons fill 1/4 cup?
What we learnedTrue or false?
1 tablespoon holds exactly 3 teaspoons.?
1 cup is exactly 8 fluid ounces.?
1 cup holds 4 tablespoons.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEThese conversions let you measure with any tool you have.
On paper, draw a tall cup with 16 lines, one for each tablespoon. Shade 1/4 of it.
How many tablespoons are in 1 cup? Type a number.
WHY THIS EXERCISE8 times 2 is 16.

Lab complete, scientist! Tomorrow you read the Family Veggie Soup card.

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