Measuring Liquid Volume and Mass
Mystery Detective · Grades 3–5 · Potion Shop
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Inside the case file
These measuring mass and liquid volume worksheets give your 3rd grade class ten CSI Mini Mystery Detective math cases on reading scales. Students read measuring jugs in liters, kitchen scales in grams and kilograms, and balance scales, all in a potion shop theme. It's 3.MD.A.2 practice you can put in math centers or send home as homework, and early finishers can grab a case any time. There's no prep, and every case comes with an answer key.
Every page has 15 pictures to read, with an answer line under each one. The scales go up in ten equal steps and only some of the marks have numbers, which means students have to work out what one mark is worth before they read the jug or the needle. It's metric measurement practice that has students read the whole scale. Students find each reading on the suspect list and cross that name off, and when the readings are right there's one suspect left.
What's Inside
- 10 one-page cases with 15 pictures each, and an answer key for every case
- Measuring jugs marked to 10, 20, 30 and 50 liters
- Kitchen scales in grams and in kilograms. They don't all count by the same amount
- Level balance scales. Students add the labeled weights to find the mass of the potion
- A reference page on reading scales that you can project or copy
- Contents page, teacher instructions, a case log and a certificate
- 30 pages in black and white
The Cases
- The Bubbling Cauldron - measuring jugs in liters
- The Midnight Mixup - more jugs, including a 30 liter jug
- The Rabbit Hat Raid - kitchen scales in grams
- The Stolen Spell Book - grams, with a 1,000 gram scale added
- The Cracked Crystal Ball - kitchen scales in kilograms
- The Castle Cellar Crime - sacks of turnips weighed in kilograms
- The Candle Wax Caper - balance scales with gram weights
- The Bat Wing Bandit - balance scales with kilogram weights
- The Missing Magic Wand - balance scales in grams and kilograms
- The Black Cat Caper - jugs and scales mixed together
When to Use This Resource
The cases go from measuring jugs to kitchen scales to balance scales. Cases 1 and 2 are the jugs. Cases 3 to 6 are kitchen scales, with grams before kilograms. Cases 7 to 9 move to balance scales, and Case 10 mixes all three for a review or a quick check before a test. Use one case with a small group, as a bell ringer, or in a sub folder. The potion shop theme also suits the weeks around Halloween. If you want word problems on the same skill, there's a matching pack called Liquid Volume and Mass Word Problems with ten more potion shop cases.
Grade Levels
Made for 3rd grade (3.MD.A.2). It also works as metric measurement review in 4th grade and for homeschool.
Why Teachers Love Mystery Detectives
- No prep. Print a case and hand it out
- Students mark their own work as they cross off suspects
- None of the numbers printed on a scale is ever an answer
- Clear black and white pictures that photocopy well
Want more cases like these?
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