Liters to Milligrams Converter - (L to mg)

How to Convert Liters to Milligrams

Since liters are a unit of volume and milligrams are a unit of mass, which are different physical quantities, we need to know one more physical quantity of the ingredient or substance to convert between them. In this case, we need to account for the density of the substance whenever we do a conversion.

Therefore, to convert between liters and milligrams of an ingredient or substance, we must either multiply or divide by its density, depending on which direction we are performing the conversion.

Liters to Milligrams Formula

To convert a measurement in liters to milligrams, multiply the volume by the density of the ingredient or material. Note that in order for this to work, the density must be in milligrams per liter (mg/L).

If the density is given in grams per milliliter (g/mL), then first multiply the density by 1,000,000 to convert to mg/L.

For a density given in g/mL, you can use this simple formula to convert:

milligrams = liters × 1,000,000 × density

Thus, the weight in milligrams is equal to the volume in liters multiplied by 1,000,000 times the density (in g/mL) of the ingredient, substance, or material.

For example, here's how to convert 5 liters to milligrams for an ingredient with a density of 0.7 g/mL.

milligrams = 5 L × 1,000,000 × 0.7 g/mL = 3,500,000 mg

When to Convert Liters to Milligrams

Liters and milligrams are both commonly used to measure cooking ingredients.

For cooking applications, most chefs suggest measuring dry ingredients by weight rather than volume to improve accuracy in the measurements.^[1] The density of dry ingredients can vary for a variety of reasons, such as compaction and clumping.

The best way to ensure an accurate conversion is to use a scale. When a scale is not available, a calculator like the one above is a good way to estimate the volume to weight conversion.

Another useful application of weight and volume conversions is chemistry. When performing chemical reactions by combining separate chemicals to produce a new chemical, one must know the exact amount of each chemical to add in order to maximize the yield of the reaction.

It is common to mix powdered chemicals with liquid, or aqueous, chemicals, and this is where it becomes very useful to convert between weights and volumes.^[2]

A third application of weight and volume conversions is when shipping freight when calculating the volumetric weight for cargo and packages. Trucks, ships, and airplanes are limited in the amount of weight or volume they can transport, so if one of those quantities is known, but the limitation is on the other, then it becomes necessary to convert between the two so as not to overload the shipping vehicle.

Keep reading to learn more about each unit of measure.

How Many Milligrams Are in a Liter?

The actual weight of a liter will vary depending on the density of the material. The table below shows how many milligrams of various wet and dry ingredients are in a liter.

Liter measurements converted to milligrams for commonly used cooking and baking ingredients.
Volume in Liters:	Weight in Milligrams of:
Volume in Liters:	Water	Milk	Cooking Oil	All Purpose Flour	Granulated Sugar
0.001 L	1,000 mg	1,030 mg	880 mg	529 mg	845.35 mg
0.002 L	2,000 mg	2,060 mg	1,760 mg	1,058 mg	1,691 mg
0.003 L	3,000 mg	3,090 mg	2,640 mg	1,587 mg	2,536 mg
0.004 L	4,000 mg	4,120 mg	3,520 mg	2,116 mg	3,381 mg
0.005 L	5,000 mg	5,150 mg	4,400 mg	2,645 mg	4,227 mg
0.006 L	6,000 mg	6,180 mg	5,280 mg	3,174 mg	5,072 mg
0.007 L	7,000 mg	7,210 mg	6,160 mg	3,703 mg	5,917 mg
0.008 L	8,000 mg	8,240 mg	7,040 mg	4,232 mg	6,763 mg
0.009 L	9,000 mg	9,270 mg	7,920 mg	4,761 mg	7,608 mg
0.01 L	10,000 mg	10,300 mg	8,800 mg	5,290 mg	8,454 mg
0.011 L	11,000 mg	11,330 mg	9,680 mg	5,819 mg	9,299 mg
0.012 L	12,000 mg	12,360 mg	10,560 mg	6,348 mg	10,144 mg
0.013 L	13,000 mg	13,390 mg	11,440 mg	6,877 mg	10,990 mg
0.014 L	14,000 mg	14,420 mg	12,320 mg	7,406 mg	11,835 mg
0.015 L	15,000 mg	15,450 mg	13,200 mg	7,935 mg	12,680 mg
0.016 L	16,000 mg	16,480 mg	14,080 mg	8,464 mg	13,526 mg
0.017 L	17,000 mg	17,510 mg	14,960 mg	8,993 mg	14,371 mg
0.018 L	18,000 mg	18,540 mg	15,840 mg	9,522 mg	15,216 mg
0.019 L	19,000 mg	19,570 mg	16,720 mg	10,051 mg	16,062 mg
0.02 L	20,000 mg	20,600 mg	17,600 mg	10,580 mg	16,907 mg
0.021 L	21,000 mg	21,630 mg	18,480 mg	11,109 mg	17,752 mg
0.022 L	22,000 mg	22,660 mg	19,360 mg	11,638 mg	18,598 mg
0.023 L	23,000 mg	23,690 mg	20,240 mg	12,167 mg	19,443 mg
0.024 L	24,000 mg	24,720 mg	21,120 mg	12,696 mg	20,288 mg
0.025 L	25,000 mg	25,750 mg	22,000 mg	13,225 mg	21,134 mg
0.026 L	26,000 mg	26,780 mg	22,880 mg	13,754 mg	21,979 mg
0.027 L	27,000 mg	27,810 mg	23,760 mg	14,283 mg	22,824 mg
0.028 L	28,000 mg	28,840 mg	24,640 mg	14,812 mg	23,670 mg
0.029 L	29,000 mg	29,870 mg	25,520 mg	15,341 mg	24,515 mg
0.03 L	30,000 mg	30,900 mg	26,400 mg	15,870 mg	25,361 mg
0.031 L	31,000 mg	31,930 mg	27,280 mg	16,399 mg	26,206 mg
0.032 L	32,000 mg	32,960 mg	28,160 mg	16,928 mg	27,051 mg
0.033 L	33,000 mg	33,990 mg	29,040 mg	17,457 mg	27,897 mg
0.034 L	34,000 mg	35,020 mg	29,920 mg	17,986 mg	28,742 mg
0.035 L	35,000 mg	36,050 mg	30,800 mg	18,515 mg	29,587 mg
0.036 L	36,000 mg	37,080 mg	31,680 mg	19,044 mg	30,433 mg
0.037 L	37,000 mg	38,110 mg	32,560 mg	19,573 mg	31,278 mg
0.038 L	38,000 mg	39,140 mg	33,440 mg	20,102 mg	32,123 mg
0.039 L	39,000 mg	40,170 mg	34,320 mg	20,631 mg	32,969 mg
0.04 L	40,000 mg	41,200 mg	35,200 mg	21,160 mg	33,814 mg

What Is a Liter?

A liter is a unit of volume equal to 1,000 cubic centimeters or 0.264172 US gallons.^[3] The liter is a special name defined for the cubic decimeter and is exactly equal to the volume of one cubic decimeter (1 decimeter is 1/10 of a meter, or 10 centimeters).

The liter is an SI accepted unit for volume for use with the metric system. A liter is sometimes also referred to as a litre. Liters can be abbreviated as L, and are also sometimes abbreviated as l or ℓ. For example, 1 liter can be written as 1 L, 1 l, or 1 ℓ.

Learn more about liters.

What Is a Milligram?

The milligram is a unit of mass equal to 1/1,000 of a gram, or 0.0154 grains.

The milligram, or milligramme, is an SI unit of mass in the metric system. In the metric system, "milli" is the prefix for thousandths, or 10^-3. Milligrams can be abbreviated as mg; for example, 1 milligram can be written as 1 mg.

A milligram is also frequently referred to as a unit of weight. While technically, a milligram is a measure of mass, and weight is actually a measure of force, the two are equivalent as long as we are performing our calculations on Earth.

For example, an object with a mass of 1 milligram weighs 1 milligram on Earth, but only weighs one-sixth of that on the moon, yet still has the same mass.

Learn more about milligrams.

Liters to Milligrams Conversion Calculator

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