What Three Dimensions Do You Need to Find the Volume of a Rectangular Solid Object?
"Volume" is defined as the amount of space that an object takes up. Objects are represented by three spatial dimensions: length, width and height. Therefore, in order to determine how much space is taken up by a rectangular solid object, you must take into account all three spatial dimensions of the object: length, width and height.
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Background
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A "dimension" is defined as a measurement in one direction. Length makes up the first of the three spatial dimensions that define an object. Length is the left-to-right plane of measurement of the object. Width is a measurement made from one length plane to another length plane; it is the breadth measurement of the object. Height measures the object's vertical extent.
Formula
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The formula for finding the volume of a three-dimensional, solid rectangular object is the length of the object, multiplied by the width of the object, multiplied by the height of the object, or length x width x height.
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Example
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If you have a solid rectangular object that measures four feet long, two feet wide and three feet high, your formula for finding the volume of the object will be 4 x 2 x 3, which equals 24. This particular object, therefore, has a volume of 24 cubic feet.
Measurements
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The same unit of measurement must be applied to all the object's dimensions in order for the volume formula to work. The volume formula would not work, for instance, if the unit of measurement used for the object's length was feet but the unit of measurement used for the object's width or height was inches.
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References
Resources
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