Volume is the measure of space occupied by an object.
Every object occupies a three-dimensional space with a height, width and depth. Volume is the three-dimensional space occupied by an object.
There are different techniques for measuring an object’s volume. Mathematical formulas are used to calculate the volume of regular solids. Water displacement can be used to calculate the space occupied by an irregular solid. Lastly, lab instruments, such as graduated cylinders and volumetric flasks, are used to measure the volume of liquids and gases.
The volume of solids is usually measured in cubic centimetres (cm3) or cubic metres (m3).
| Prefix | kilo- | hecto | deca- | deci- | centi- | milli- | |
| Volume | cubic kilometre (km3) | cubic hectometre (hm3) | cubic decametre (dam3) | cubic metre (m3) | cubic decimetre (dm3) | cubic centimetre (cm3) | cubic millimetre (mm3) |
| Value equivalent to 1 m3 | 0.000 000 001 km3 | 0.000 0001 hm3 | 0.001 dam3 | 1 m3 | 1000 dm3 | 1 000 000 cm3 | 1 000 000 000 mm3 |
|
Prefix |
kilo- | hecto- | deca- | deci- | centi- | milli- | |
| Volume | kilolitre (kL) | hectolitre (hL) | decalitre (daL) | litre (L) | decilitre (dL) | centilitre (cL) | millilitre (mL) |
| Value equivalent to 1 L | 0.001 kL | 0.01 hL | 0.1 daL | 1 | 10 dL | 100 mL | 1 000 mL |
Liquids are usually measured in millilitres (mL) and litres (L).
There are simple conversions for switching from one scale to another.
|1\ \text{cm}^{3} = 1\ \text{mL}|
|1\ \text{dm}^{3} = 1\ \text{L}|
|1\ \text{m}^{3} = 1\ 000\ \text{L}|
The unit of measurement is chosen based on the object in question. Millilitres are the ideal unit for measuring the volume of water in a glass. However, using kilolitres is better when measuring how much water there is on the Earth’s surface, since the resulting value will be a more manageable number.
One kilogram of bricks is placed on one side of a scale, and one kilogram of feathers is placed on the other side. Their total masses are the same, so the scale will stay balanced. However, their volumes are different. More feathers will be needed to reach one kilogram and obtain the same mass as the bricks. Two objects with similar masses can have different volumes.