Volume Using Unit Cubes
Volume measures how much three-dimensional space an object occupies, and is found by counting or calculating the number of unit cubes that fill it.
What You Need to Know
Key Concept Diagram
Volume is the amount of space inside a 3-D shape, measured in cubic units (cm³ or m³)
One unit cube has a volume of 1 cm³; stacking and arranging them builds larger volumes
The volume of a rectangular prism = length × width × height (l × w × h)
The formula can also be thought of as: area of the base × height
Key Vocabulary
Volume
The amount of 3-D space an object takes up, measured in cubic units
Unit cube
A cube with side lengths of 1 unit, used to measure volume
Cubic centimetre (cm³)
The volume of a cube that is 1 cm long, 1 cm wide, and 1 cm tall
Rectangular prism
A 3-D shape with six rectangular faces (a box shape)
Knowledge Check
Select the correct answer for each question. Click "Check Answer" to see if you are right.
Question 1
A box is 4 cm long, 3 cm wide, and 2 cm tall. What is its volume?
Question 2
A shape is built from unit cubes. It has 3 layers, each with 2 rows of 5 cubes. What is the total volume?
Question 3
If a rectangular prism has a base area of 12 cm² and a height of 5 cm, what is its volume?
Key Concepts Summary
- ●Volume is the amount of space inside a 3-D shape, measured in cubic units (cm³ or m³)
- ●One unit cube has a volume of 1 cm³; stacking and arranging them builds larger volumes
- ●The volume of a rectangular prism = length × width × height (l × w × h)
- ●The formula can also be thought of as: area of the base × height