Volume of a cuboid

You learn to find the volume: how many cubes fit inside a shape.

How to work it out

  1. Base layer is length × width.
  2. Multiply by the height for total layers: L × W × H.
  3. Write cubic units: m³ or cm³.
8 m4 m2 m

A worked example

A box is 3 m long, 2 m wide and 2 m high. What is the volume?

  1. Multiply length, width and height: 3 × 2 × 2 = 12.
  2. The volume is 12 m³.
Another example

A cube has sides of 4 cm. What is the volume?

  1. Multiply the three sides: 4 × 4 × 4 = 64.
  2. The volume is 64 cm³.

Watch out

  • You only multiply two of the sides: 3 × 2 = 6.

    The volume is three dimensions: length times width times height.

Tips

  • For a box with length L, width W and height H, the volume is L × W × H.
  • For a cube with side S, the volume is S × S × S.

Why it works

The volume is the space inside a solid shape. You work it out by counting how many cubes fit inside. For a box you do length times width times height.