Final answer:
The SI base unit of liquid volume is the liter (L), which is more manageable than the much larger cubic meter. A liter is equivalent to 1 cubic decimeter (dm³) and the smaller unit milliliter (mL) is equal to 1 cubic centimeter (cm³).
Step-by-step explanation:
The SI base unit of liquid volume is the liter (L). Volume is a derived unit from length measurements in the SI system, and is expressed as cubic meters (m³). However, this large unit is not practical for everyday measurements, especially in a lab setting, which is why the liter was introduced as a more manageable unit. A liter corresponds to the volume of a cube with 10 cm on each side, or 1 cubic decimeter (1 dm³). Smaller units such as milliliters (mL) are also used, where 1 mL is the volume of a cube that measures 1 cm on each side, the same as 1 cubic centimeter (cm³). When converting from liters to milliliters, one liter is equal to 1,000 milliliters.