BuilderGrade 5⏱ 15 min
Volume
Build boxes from unit cubes, split them into layers, and discover why volume is length × width × height.
Standards: 5.MD.C.35.MD.C.5
1Wonder
Two boxes look about the same size. One is tall and thin, the other short and wide. Which one holds more sugar cubes? How could you know without filling them?
2Explore
This activity needs a bigger screen
Turn your phone sideways, or open this lesson on a tablet or computer. The explanation and quiz below work here.
V = 4 × 3 × 2 = 24 cubic units
Length
Width
Height
Try this
- Press Fill it cube by cube. How many cubes go in one layer? How many layers are there?
- Turn on Split into layers. Can you count the cubes faster now?
- Build a box with 24 cubes. Can you find another box, with a different shape, that also holds 24?
- What happens to the number of cubes when you double the height?
3Explain
Step 1 of 5
The unit cube
A cube 1 cm long, 1 cm wide and 1 cm tall has a volume of 1 cubic centimeter (1 cm³). We measure volume by counting how many unit cubes fit.
Volume of a box
Volume counts unit cubes. One layer holds l × w cubes, and there are h layers.
4Practice
Question 1 of 5
A box is 5 cm long, 2 cm wide and 3 cm tall. What is its volume?
5Recap
- Volume is how much space a solid takes up, counted in unit cubes (cm³).
- One layer holds length × width cubes.
- V = l × w × h.
- For shapes made of boxes, add the volumes of the parts.