VOLUME OF A BOX, CUBE, OR CYLINDER

The concept of volume holds great practical importance. If you dig a hole that you need filled
with concrete, you need to know its volume to find out how much concrete to buy. Volume is
typically measured in cubic units. The easiest way to think about volume is to try to imagine
how much liquid you would need to pour into a geometric figure to fill it.

The first type of solid for which we will calculate volume is a box or cube (also sometimes
called a rectangular solid or a rectangular prism). In general, the formula used to find the
volume of a rectangular solid is given by

h
V ! l ! w!h where l = the length
w = the width, and
h = the height of the figure
w
l

Find the volume of each figure.

Example 1 Solution:

8 feet
V ! 13!6!8

V ! 624 cubic feet (ft3)

6 feet
13 feet

Example 2 Solution:

6.3 cm V ! " 5.2 #" 4.9 #" 6.3#

V ! 160.524 cm3
4.9 cm
5.2 cm
The second solid for which we will calculate volume is a cylinder (sometimes referred to as a
right circular solid). In general, the formula used to find the volume of a cylinder is given by

V ! $ r 2h where r = the radius, and h

h = the height of the figure

Find the volume of each figure.

Example 3 Solution:

V ! $ " 92 # " 8 #
9m

22 m

V ! 648$ or 2035.752 m3
(use your calculator’s ! key)

Example 4 Solution:

Find the volume of a cylinder 2r = d, so if diameter = 3

, then radius = 1 3 3
! ! .
2 2 2 4
whose diameter is 3 inch and
2
%' 3 ( 2 & % 7 &
whose height is 7
inch. V ! $ )+ , * ) *
/)- 4 . 0* / 8 0
8

%' 9 ( & % 7 &

V ! $ )+ , * ) *
/- 16 . 0 / 8 0
% 63 &
V !$ )
/128 *0
63$
V ! or 1.546 in3
128