Cubic Units

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

• What do boxes, blocks, and dice have in common?

They are all cubes! A cube is a three-dimensional shape.

Volume measures the amount of space an object occupies.

To find the volume of a cube, we need to know three measurements. We need to know the length, width, and height of the cube.

We can use this formula to find the volume: Volume = Length x Width x Height

The volume of a unit cube is 1 cubic unit.

Look at the example below. This solid is made of 4 unit cubes:

Its volume is 4 cubic units.

If each side of the cube measures 1 centimeter (cm), then the unit cube can be measured in cubic centimeters (cm³).

Imagine the example above is made of 1-cm cubes.

• What is the volume of this solid?

Two 1-cm cubes will have a volume of 2 cubic centimeters, or 2 cm³.

Imagine you have a toy box and you want to know how many blocks you can fit in the box. By using cubic units, you can measure the volume of the box.

• Can you think of other times that you may need to find the volume of solids in real life?

Now, go on to the Got It? section to try practice games and activities!