Volume can be measured in different ways depending on the type and shape of the object or substance. For solids:
- Regular geometric solids (cube, cuboid, cylinder, sphere, cone, pyramid) have volume formulas based on their dimensions. For example, volume of a cube = side³, volume of a cuboid = length × width × height.
- For irregular solids, volume can be found by water displacement. Measure the water volume in a graduated container before and after submerging the object. The difference in water volume equals the object's volume.
For liquids:
- Use graduated measuring vessels such as measuring cups, graduated cylinders, or volumetric flasks, depending on the needed accuracy.
For gases:
- Gas volume can be measured by inflating a balloon and calculating the volume through displacement, or by using laboratory apparatus like gas syringes. Volume can also be calculated from mass and density with the formula V=mdV=\frac{m}{d}V=dm.
The standard unit of volume is the cubic meter (m³), but commonly volume is expressed in liters, milliliters, cubic centimeters, etc. Summary of volume formulas for common solids:
- Cube: V=s3V=s^3V=s3
- Cuboid: V=l×w×hV=l\times w\times hV=l×w×h
- Sphere: V=43πr3V=\frac{4}{3}\pi r^3V=34πr3
- Cylinder: V=πr2hV=\pi r^2hV=πr2h
- Cone: V=13πr2hV=\frac{1}{3}\pi r^2hV=31πr2h
- Pyramid: V=13base area×hV=\frac{1}{3}\text{base area}\times hV=31base area×h
These methods allow volume measurement by direct calculation or displacement, depending on the object or substance type.
