You should know the following formulae to work out the volumes of these 3D solid shapes:
Cube
You must know:
- the side length.
Remember that the length, the width and the height will all be equal to the side length, because this is a CUBE.
Volume of cube = side length × side length × side length
Cuboid
You must know:
- the length
- the width
- the height.
Volume of cuboid = length × width × height
Example 1
Can a volume formula be used to work out the volume of this cuboid, and if so, which one is best?
Answer
This is a cuboid.
We must know:
- the length
- the width
- the height.
The length is 15 cm, the width is 4 cm and the height is 8 cm.
Yes, we can use the volume formula:
Volume of cuboid = length × width × height
Example 2
Can a volume formula be used to work out the volume of this cube, and if so, which one is best?
Answer
This is a cube.
We must know:
- the side length.
The side length is 7 cm, so the width and the height are also 7 cm.
Yes, we can use the volume formula:
Volume of cube = side length × side length × side length
Example 3
Can a volume formula be used to work out the volume of this cuboid, and if so, which one is best?
Answer
This is a cuboid.
We must know:
- the length
- the width
- the height.
The length is 9 cm, the width is 4 cm but we do not know the height.
No, we cannot use a volume formula.
NB The length, the width and the height are all interchangeable with each other, depending on how you look at a cuboid.