How Much Does 5 Liters Of Water Weigh?
Last updated on September 22nd, 2023 at 05:49 pm
A liter of water or any other liquid is a very common measurement.
Not only is a liter used to measure liquids in countries that commonly use the metric system, but it’s also used for things like soda or milk in the United States, which more commonly uses the imperial system.
For this reason, it can be very helpful to know what a liter of water, or 5 liters of water, weighs.
What does a liter measure?
A liter is a unit of measurement in the metric system used to gauge volume.
This measurement is similar to a cup or a gallon in the imperial system, as these measurements are also used to measure volume.
This means that a liter of any liquid will always take up the same amount of space, or volume.
However, because different liquids have different densities, a liter can vary greatly in weight.
For example, a liter of water will often weigh less than a liter of soda because the soda is denser and therefore heavier.

How much do 5 liters of water weigh in kilograms?
When the metric system was standardized, it was decided that many measurements should be based on the weight, mass, or volume of water.
A liter of water at standard pressure and a temperature of 4 degrees Celsius, therefore, was given the weight of 1 kilogram to help standardize measurements across the metric system.
To this day, a liter of water, in general, weighs about 1 kilogram. This means that, without taking into account any other factors that can affect weight and volume, we can safely estimate that 5 liters of water weigh about, if not exactly, 5 kilograms.
How much do 5 liters of water weigh in pounds?
We know that 1 liter of water usually weighs almost exactly 1 kilogram.
One kilogram is equal to just over 2.2 pounds.
This means that, in order to find out how many pounds 5 liters of water weighs, we need to multiply 5 by 2.2.
The answer, which is 11, tells us that 5 liters of water will usually weigh right around 11 pounds.

Can heat change how much water weighs?
Most of the time, we can safely estimate that 1 liter of water will weigh 1 kilogram or 2.2 pounds.
However, there are some factors that can change how much a certain volume of water weighs.
For example, a given volume measurement of water will change in weight if the temperature of the water changes.
When the metric system was standardized, it was water at 4 degrees Celsius, or about 39 degrees Fahrenheit, that was equal to 1 kilogram.
This temperature is just over freezing, so water at this temperature is quite cold.
When water, or any liquid, is cold, the molecules in the liquid move closer together, becoming much denser.

This means that the water takes up less space, or volume, so more of it can be placed in a liter container.
For this reason, water that’s close to freezing, but hasn’t yet reached the freezing point, is denser and therefore heavier than water that’s room temperature.
When water freezes and turns into ice, the molecules move into a much more rigid pattern.
This causes the liquid to expand, which means the water actually becomes less dense.
It also means that water might fit in a liter container, but ice will expand too much to fit in the same container.
Because of this, a liter of ice weighs less than a liter of water because less of it can fit in a liter container.
As water heats up, the molecules begin to move away from each other.
Warm or hot water is less dense than room temperature or cold water because the molecules are beginning to drift apart, or are on their way to becoming steam.
Water that’s warmer and therefore less dense has expanded, so less of it can fit in a liter container.
This means that a liter of hot water will weigh less than a liter of cold water.

If you have a clear container that’s half full of warm water and you pour cold water on top, you can often see the cold water sinking.
The temperature change will cause a fuzzy line that sinks to the bottom part of the container.
Using a dye in cold water can also help you view this weight difference.
The following video shows the effect of temperature on water density.