What is volume?

Part ofMathematics and Numeracy3d shapesYear 6

How is volume measured?

Lucy looking thoughtfully at a whiteboard with a cube on it. Double headed arrows are shown on the base, width and height.

Volume is the amount of space occupied by a solid, liquid or a shape.

The volume of cubes and cuboids can be measured in cubic centimetres (cm³) and metres (m³).

The volume of a shape can also be calculated by multiplying its length by its width and height.

Volume = length × width × height

Lucy looking thoughtfully at a whiteboard with a cube on it. Double headed arrows are shown on the base, width and height.
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Activity: What is volume?

Complete this interactive activity to understand what volume is and how it is measured, then put your knowledge to the test.

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Measuring volume

Volume is the amount of space a 3D shape takes up.

You can measure volume in cubic centimetres (cm³) or cubic metres (m³).

A cubic centimetre block is a cube that has sides each measuring 1cm. The volume of this cube is 1cm³.

A cube with double ended arrows showing length 1cm, width 1cm and height 1cm. to the left is label 1cm³.

You can work out the volume of a shape by counting how many 1cm³ cubes fit inside it.

You can also calculate the volume of a cuboid using this formula:

Volume = length × width × height

You can also write this as:

V = l × w × h

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Example 1

A cube with double ended arrows and measurements of 3m along the length, width and height. Each surface of the cube is divided into 9 units.

What is the volume of this cube?

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Example 2

2 cuboids with double ended arrows along each edge. Cuboid 1 measures length 4cm, width 5cm and height 4cm. Cuboid 2 is 10cm length, 2 cm width and 3cm height. Both have division lines of 1cm by 1cm.

Which cuboid has the greater volume?

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Example 3

A net of a cuboid with 6 rectangles. The length is 10cm, width 3cm and height 8cm. The rectangles are in a pattern that can be folded into a cuboid shape.

Here is a net of a cuboid. What is the volume of this cuboid?

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Use your times tables and more maths skills to defeat monsters and reclaim the Kingdom of Mathematica

Play our fun maths game Guardians: Defenders of Mathematica
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