Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 4: Square or rectangle
• Method 2 of 4: The cylinder
• Method 3 of 4: Three-sided pyramid
• Method 4 of 4: Four-sided pyramid
• Tips
• Necessities

Have you ever had to fill a sandbox, a post hole or any other three-dimensional space? Here you do a “cubic measurement,” another name for measuring a volume. To calculate the volume of a cube shape, cylinder or sphere in cubic meters, take the following steps.

To step

Method 1 of 4: Square or rectangle

1. Measure the length of the object. Measure in centimeters or meters, depending on the size.
   • Ex. 8 centimeters.
2. Measure the width of the object. If you used centimeters in the previous measurement, be consistent and do the same for the width.
   • Ex. 16 centimeters.
3. Multiply the length by the width. This calculates the area of ​​the base of the object.
   • Ex. 8 centimeters x 16 centimeters = 128 square centimeters.
4. Measure the height of the object. Make a note of this.
   • Ex. 27 centimeters.
5. Multiply the base of the object (the area.) with height. With this you have calculated the content or the volume of a three-dimensional object.
   • Ex: 128 square centimeters x 27 centimeters = 3456 cubic centimeters.
6. Convert this to cubic meters if necessary. To quickly convert from cubic centimeters to cubic meters, divide the result by 1,000,000.
   • Ex. 3,456 cubic centimeters / 1,000,000 = 0.003456 cubic meters.

Method 2 of 4: The cylinder

1. Measure the diameter of the cylinder and divide it by 2. Half the width of a circle is also called the Ray or radius. We again assume that you measure in centimeters.
   • Ex. 20 centimeters / 2 = 10 centimeters.
2. Multiply the radius by itself. This is the same as the square of the radius.
   • Ex. 10 centimeters x 10 centimeters = 100 square centimeters.
3. Multiply the squared radius by pi. If you don't have a button on your calculator for pi (or it's okay to work with an estimate), multiply by 3,14. With this you have calculated the area of ​​the circle; the flat surface at the end of the cylinder.
   • Ex. 100 centimeters x 3.14 = 314 square centimeters.
4. Measure the height of the cylinder. You can also call this the length, depending on the orientation. Write down this number.
   • Ex. 11 centimeters.
5. Multiply the area of ​​the end of the cylinder by the height. With this you know the content, or also the volume of the cylinder.
   • Ex. 314 square centimeters x 11 centimeters = 3454 cubic centimeters.
6. Convert the answer to cubic meters if necessary. Do this as previously mentioned.
   • Ex. 3,454 cubic centimeters / 1,000,000 = 0.003454 cubic meters.

Method 3 of 4: Three-sided pyramid

1. Measure one side of the "base" of the pyramid. Measure the length of one side of the triangular base.
   • Ex. 9 centimeters.
2. Measure the "elevation line" of the base of the pyramid. This is the distance from one side of the triangle to the point directly opposite.
   • Ex. 12 centimeters.
3. Multiply the side length of the base by the elevation line and divide by 2. With this you have calculated the area of ​​the triangular base of the pyramid.
   • Ex. 9 inches x 12 inches = 108 square centimeters
     • 108 square centimeters / 2 = 54 square centimeters
4. Measure the height of the pyramid. Make sure you measure in an exactly vertical line from top to bottom, not the diagonal of the pyramid. Make a note of this.
   • Ex. 32 centimeters.
5. Multiply the area of ​​the base by the height. With this you have calculated the content (the volume) of a bar, not yet that of the pyramid!
   • Ex. 54 square centimeters x 32 centimeters = 1728 cubic centimeters.
6. Divide the previous number by three. You have to adjust the previous result to find the contents of a pyramid. To do this, divide the previous number by three. This is valid for all pyramids.
   • Ex. 1728 cubic centimeters / 3 = 576 cubic centimeters.
7. Convert this to cubic meters if necessary. Divide by 1,000,000 to do this.
   • Ex. 576 cubic centimeters / 1,000,000 = 0,000576 cubic meters.

Method 4 of 4: Four-sided pyramid

1. Measure the length of the base of the pyramid in centimeters.
   • Ex. 8 centimeters.
2. Measure the width of the base of the pyramid, again in centimeters.
   • Ex. 18 centimeters.
3. Multiply the length by the width. With this you have calculated the area of ​​the base of the pyramid.
   • Ex. 8 inches x 18 inches = 144 square centimeters.
4. Measure the height of the pyramid. Make sure you measure in an exactly vertical line from top to bottom, not the diagonal of the pyramid. Make a note of this.
   • Ex. 18 centimeters.
5. Multiply the area of ​​the base by the height. With this you have calculated the content (the volume) of a bar, not yet that of the pyramid.
   • Ex. 144 square centimeters x 18 centimeters = 2592 cubic centimeters.
6. Divide the previous number by three. You have to adjust the previous result to find the contents of a pyramid. To do this, divide the previous number by three. This is valid for all pyramids.
   • Ex. 2592 cubic centimeters / 3 = 864 cubic centimeters.
7. Convert this to cubic meters if necessary. Divide by 1,000,000 to do this.
   • Ex. 864 cubic centimeters / 1,000,000 = 0,000864 cubic meters.

Tips

• The term "cubic meter" can also be written as m ^ 3; don't let that fool you, it's just a shorthand for “cubic,” and not something new.
• When converting from cubic centimeters to cubic meters, it can help to think of 1,000,000 as 100 x 100 x 100; there are 100 centimeters in a meter, 100 x 100 in a square meter and 100 x 100 x 100 in a cubic meter.
• The basic idea in calculating in three-dimensional space is to find the flat plane of the base and multiply it by the height, which gives you three dimensions. This is of course more difficult with more complex or irregular figures.

Necessities

• Something you can measure against
• Pen (possibly)
• Paper (possibly)
• Calculator (optional)