There are 2 ¼ cups in ½ cup. We can see this because ¼ is one quarter and ½ is one half and two quarters make a half and then two halves, or four quarters, make a whole. It is easiest to imagine a circle divided into four with one diagonal and one horizontal line drawn through the circle. This creates four sections, or four quarters. Two of the quarters together is equal to half of the circle. Cups are often used in cooking and baking as a simple and informal form of measurement for ingredients such as flour, sugar, water, milk or rice. Standard measuring cups can be bought to ensure the measurement is as accurate as possible, but there is no internationally agreed definition and the measurement can range from 200-284 millilitres. Standardised measuring cups can be bought as a whole cup, half a cup or a quarter cup or some will have markings on the side to indicate where the different sizes should come to on the measuring container. Having different sized cups makes measurements more precise and simplifies the cooking process. Using cups as forms of measurement is much simpler than using weights, particularly as we use different measuring systems around the world and even between different generations. We may even switch between the metric system of kilograms and the imperial system of pounds and ounces which can become complicated. Using cups as a form of measurement may be simple but cups are slightly less accurate as it would be easy to overfill or under-fill the cup. In some forms of baking, precision is vital and having slightly too much of one ingredient can lead to disastrous consequences and ruin the dish. In these cases, it may be best to weigh the ingredients.
