About Cubic Yards
In the United States, we measure the length of flat items with inches, feet and yards. Finding the size of an object is a simple as converting our inches into feet, then into yards for larger dimensions. To find the volume of an object that is not flat, we use the same measurements, but our result will be in cubic inches, feet and yards.
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Identification
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Strictly defined, a cubic yard is the volume of a cube that measures exactly one yard long by one yard wide and one yard in depth. However, since this is a measure of volume, it is also useful for determining the capacity of empty objects to hold liquids and solids. It is commonly abbreviated as yards³ or yds³ in math and business.
Using Cubic Yards
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This measurement is often used for home and garden supplies like mulch, dirt and grass seeds. The construction industry also calculates many materials like gravel, concrete and asphalt in cubic yards. Application of these products requires measurement of the depth of the product, along with the length and width of the surface.
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Calculating
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Cubic measurements require two calculations. First, you must multiply the item's length by its width to find the area of the top surface of the item. After you complete the area calculation, measure the object's height. Next, multiply the area by the height. If you needed to find the volume of a sandbox that is two yards long by four yards wide and three yards deep, you will calculate the area first. Two yards multiplied by four yards results in an area of eight yards. When you multiply eight yards (area) by three yards (depth), the result is 24 cubic yards.
Converting Cubic Yards
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Sometimes you may need to convert cubic feet to cubic yards or cubic yards to cubic feet. You may already know how to convert regular yards to feet. However, the formulas for converting cubic measurements are different. One cubic yard equals 27 cubic feet. To find the number of cubic feet in one cubic yard, multiply the total cubic yards by 27. The volume of the example sandbox is 24 cubic yards. After multiplying its volume by 27, the sandbox's volume measures a total of 648 cubic feet. A cubic yard also equals 46,656 cubic inches.
Equivalents
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Depending on the object or product that you are measuring, you may need additional formulas to convert cubic yards to other common metric or U.S. equivalent measurements. One cubic yard equals 201.97 U.S. liquid gallons, 173.57 dry gallons and 4.81 barrels. Common metric equivalents of a cubic yard are 0.76 cubic meters and 764.55 liters.
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