- You can measure the volume of a space by using simple mathematical formulas.
- Variations of the basic formula offer quick guides to the volume of any space, from a cylinder to container with sloping sides.
- Understanding how to measure volume has real-world applications—in the kitchen or the backyard, and more.
You’re moving, or maybe you’ve just got a lot of stuff, and you need to rent out a storage container—but you have no real sense for how much storage you need. Keep reading, because understanding the principles of volume can help you find the right answer.
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Needing to calculate your storage requirements is just one example illustrating the importance of understanding volume in the real world. Another instance might be when you need to add the right amount of chemicals to your backyard pool. Or maybe you’re attempting the adventurous step of brewing your own beer—volume plays a pivotal role! In many everyday undertakings—such as knowing much water you’re drinking daily or baking a cake—calculating volume can make accomplishing your tasks painless.
Below, we explain how to measure volume using simple mathematical formulas.
How to measure volume
“Volume is the measure of the 3-dimensional space occupied by matter, or enclosed by a surface,” according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s U.S. Office of Weights and Measures. Simply stated, it is the amount of liquid or gas that will take up a defined space.
Commonly measured in cubic units, the standard unit of volume is a cubic meter. Depending on what you are measuring, you can then break it down into the smaller cubic decimeter—known as a liter—and the cubic centimeter, better known as a milliliter.
... for a container with straight sides
The basic formula for understanding volume, such as the capacity of a rectangular container, is length x width x depth. When doing the calculations, remember to express all dimensions in terms of the same unit, so whether you decide to use inches or feet, you will get the correct final number that you can then convert to cubic meters.
In the storage container example, think about your living room. You can measure out the length x width x depth of your living room to find its volume. The average living room is 15 feet by 10 feet, with a height of nine feet. This comes to a volume of 1,350 cubic feet. When converting to the more standard cubic meters, you should know that one cubic meter is equal to 35.3147 cubic feet. So, 1,350 cubic feet equals 38.23 cubic meters.
And since one cubic meter equals 1,000 liters, your living room contains 38,230 liters, which is about 10,100 gallons (if you wanted to fill your living room with liquid)! Now you know the volume of your space and can better understand how much storage space you need to rent to house all that furniture.
When doing this calculation, you are using a simple equation, so there’s no need to worry about the order of the functions; you simply multiply the three figures together in any order.
... for a container with sloping sides
If you have a container with sloping sides, you can use the formula of vertical height x one-half the sum of the top area and bottom area. Recall that area, a 2-dimensional figure, is the length x width of a surface. In this case, do be aware of your order of operations; calculate the areas, add them together, and then divide that number in half. Finally, multiply your answer by the vertical height.
... for a cylinder
And in the case of a straight-sided cylinder—handy for figuring out how much laundry detergent to add to your washing machine—use this formula: 0.7854 x diameter x diameter x height.
Did you know? These are the volumes of some familiar things:
Lake Ontario: 1,638 trillion liters of water, or 432.8 trillion gallons
Olympic swimming pool: 2.5 million liters of water, or 660,000 gallons
Bathtub: 235 liters of water, or 62 gallons
Blood in an average human body: 5 liters, or 1.3 gallons
Empty adult human stomach: 80 milliliters, or 2.7 fluid ounces
Average cup of coffee: 266 milliliters, or 9 fluid ounces
Understanding the different ways to measure volume—such as for beverages, which can be sold by the ounce, the liter, or the pint—can help you quickly make decisions when deciding on a purchase. It can ensure your clothes are washed properly, your pool or hot tub chemicals are added correctly, or—when it comes time to holding all your valuables—you have enough space.
Tim Newcomb
Journalist
Tim Newcomb is a journalist based in the Pacific Northwest. He covers stadiums, sneakers, gear, infrastructure, and more for a variety of publications, including Popular Mechanics. His favorite interviews have included sit-downs with Roger Federer in Switzerland, Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, and Tinker Hatfield in Portland.
