UNESCO resource kit - science and technology educa...

UNESCO Module 23: Alcohol in your body
How much alcohol?
Page 2
The container of an alcoholic drink is usually labelled to show how much
alcohol there is in it. Beer is much weaker than whisky: beer might contain
only 4% alcohol, but whisky might contain 40%. The table shows some typical
values, as well as the volume of alcohol in a standard drink. These are the
standard sizes of drink served in Scotland and Ireland.
The volume of alcohol in a pint of beer is worked out like this:
Some olde units
In most parts of Europe, the volume of a drink is given in millilitres (ml), but the
table shows some older measurements,. such as the pint, that are still used
today. .
An old-fashioned way of describing the strength of an alcoholic drink was
known as 'proof'. A 70% proof spirit such as whisky contains 400/0alcohol. In
Scotland, some beers are labelled as '40 shilling ale' (40/- ale). This was the
amount of tax paid on a barrel of the beer; the stronger the beer, the more the tax.
1 If one pint of beer contains 22 ml of alcohol, how much alcohol is there in a
half pint?
2 A can of Scottish beer is labelled '80/- Scotch ale', volume of 440 ml, alcohol
6% by volume. How much alcohol does it contain?
3 In France, it is recommended that you should not drive after consuming
more than about 30 ml of alcohol. How many glasses of wine contain this
much alcohol?