Watch: How to calculate volume
Height × width × length= volume
If the height, width and length are measured in cm, the answer will be cm³.
If the height, width and length are measured in m, the answer will be m³
You two are making food now?
Ah she wants to have the spaghetti.
Well, if you measure this cuboid up to find out her volume we can figure out just how much food she needs to be full up.
So she’s nine centimetres high, six centimetres wide and ten centimetres deep.
Now that we know the height, width and depth of the cuboid, we can work out her volume.
All we need to do is multiply the height by the width by the depth.
9 times 6 equals 54. Times this by 10 and you get 540.
So the volume of our cuboid is 540 cubic centimetres.
Good! We know just how much food it’ll take to fill her up.
Buuuurrrp!
Now all that’s left, is the dessert.
Example
The formula for calculating volume is: volume = length x width x height
So what is the volume of this cuboid?
Volume = 4cm x 3cm x 3cm
So in this example volume = 36cm3
Here are the other cuboids that also have a volume of 36cm3:
| Length | Width | Height | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3cm | 12cm | 1cm | 36cm3 |
| 6cm | 6cm | 1cm | 36cm3 |
| 4cm | 9cm | 1cm | 36cm3 |
| 6cm | 3cm | 2cm | 36cm3 |
| 9cm | 2cm | 2cm | 36cm3 |
Activity 1
Activity 2
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More on Area and volume
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