science

Quart

Quart is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Quart rather than just read about it. In short: The quart (symbol: qt) is a unit of volume equal to a quarter of a gallon. Three kinds of quarts are currently used: the liquid quart and dry quart of the US customary system and the imperial quart of the British imperial system.

Key takeaways

Quart belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Quart to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Quart from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The quart (symbol: qt) is a unit of volume equal to a quarter of a gallon. Three kinds of quarts are currently used: the liquid quart and dry quart of the US customary system and the imperial quart of the British imperial system. It is divided into two pints or (in the US) four cups. Historically, the size of a quart has varied with the different values of gallons over time, and in the case of the dry quart, in reference to different commodities.

Name The term comes from the Latin quartus (meaning one-quarter) via the French quart. However, although the French word quart has the same root, it frequently means something entirely different. In Canadian French in particular, the quart is called pinte, while the pint is called chopine.

History

Since gallons of various sizes have historically been in use, the corresponding quarts have also existed with various sizes.

Definitions and equivalencies

Imperial quart The imperial quart is equal to one-quarter of an imperial gallon of exactly 4.54609 L, i.e. 1.1365225 L. In the United Kingdom, goods may be sold by the quart if the equivalent metric measure is also given.

In Canadian French, by federal law, the imperial quart is called pinte.

US liquid quart In the United States, traditional length and volume measures have been legally standardized for commerce by the international yard and pound agreement of 1959, using the definition of 1 yard being 0.9144 meters: from this definition the metric equivalents for inches, feet, miles, area measures, and measures of volume are determined. The US liquid quart is equal to one-quarter of a gallon of exactly 231 cubic inches, i.e. 57.75 cubic inches or 0.946352946 L.

US dry quart In the United States, the dry quart is equal to ⁠1/32⁠ of a US bushel of exactly 2150.42 cubic inches, i.e. 67.200625 cubic inches or 1.101220942715 L.

Winchester quart The Winchester quart is an obsolescent measure: it was originally equal to two imperial quarts (half of an imperial gallon) or exactly 2.273045 L, but was later metricated to 2.5 L (2.2 imperial quarts). Despite its name, it is unrelated to the Winchester measure. The 2.5 L bottles in which laboratory chemicals are supplied are sometimes referred to as Winchester quart bottles, although these contain 10% more than a traditional Winchester quart.

Reputed quart The reputed quart was a measure equal to two-thirds of an imperial quart (or one-sixth of an imperial gallon), i.e. exactly 0.7576816 liters: this is only 0.08% larger than one US fifth (exactly 0.7570823568 liters). The reputed quart was previously recognized as the standard size of wine bottle in the United Kingdom, and is only about 1% larger than the current standard wine bottle of 0.75 L.

Notes

References

External links The dictionary definition of quart at Wiktionary Media related to Quart at Wikimedia Commons

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Quart

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Quart claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Quart before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Quart ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Quart

In research: Quart appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Quart in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Quart is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Alcohol measurement, Cooking weights and measures, Customary units of measurement in the United States, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Quart outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Quart in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Quart means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Quart out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Quart in simple terms?

Why does Quart matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Quart?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Quart.