Estimating volume · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Filling space: estimating volume

Mathematics · Measurement · ages 9-10
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. A cuboid is built from 1 cm cubes. It is 4 cubes long, 2 cubes wide and 1 cube high. What is its volume in cubic centimetres? Give your answer as a decimal.

    Answer: ______________

  2. A cuboid is built from 1 cm³ cubes stacked in 2 layers of 4 cubes each. What is its volume?

    • 4 cm³
    • 8 cm³
    • 9 cm³

  3. Counting how many 1 cm³ cubes would fill a box tells you its volume.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. What is 1 cm³?

    • A flat square that measures 1 cm on each side
    • A cube that measures 1 cm on each side
    • A container that holds 1 litre

  5. A jug looks like it would take about 2 full 1-litre bottles to fill. What is a good estimate of its capacity?

    • 4 litres
    • 0.5 litres
    • 2 litres

  6. A box is 10 cm long, 6 cm wide and 4 cm high. Estimate how many 1 cm cubes would fill it. Give your answer as a decimal.

    Answer: ______________

  7. A cuboid built from 1 cm cubes is 3 cubes long, 3 cubes wide and 2 cubes high. What is its volume?

    • 18 cubic cm
    • 12 cubic cm
    • 11 cubic cm
    • 9 cubic cm

  8. A cuboid is 3 blocks long, 2 blocks wide, and 2 layers tall, built from 1 cm³ cubes. How many cm³ blocks fill it?

    Answer: ______________

  9. Omar builds a cuboid with 2 layers of 5 cubes each and says the volume is 7 cm³. What mistake did he make?

    • He missed some cubes in the second layer
    • He multiplied the two layers instead of adding them
    • He measured the cuboid in cm² instead of cm³

  10. A water tank is filled using 5 buckets that each hold 2 litres. What is the tank's capacity in litres?

    Bucket 12Bucket 22Bucket 32Bucket 42Bucket 52

    Answer: ______________

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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Filling space: estimating volume W1-mt_NSC3LT_-ch-s1

  1. 8 · One layer of 4 by 2 holds 8 cubes, and there is 1 layer, so the volume is 8 cubic centimetres.
  2. 8 cm³ · Two layers of 4 cubes make 8 cubes in total: 4 + 4 = 8.
  3. True · That is exactly what volume means: the number of unit cubes that fill a solid shape.
  4. A cube that measures 1 cm on each side · 1 cm³ is a tiny cube, each side exactly 1 centimeter long, used to build up volume.
  5. 2 litres · If two 1-litre bottles would fill it, the jug's capacity is about 2 litres.
  6. 240 · 10 times 6 times 4 equals 240, so about 240 cubes fill the box.
  7. 18 cubic cm · Each layer holds 3 times 3 = 9 cubes and there are 2 layers, giving 18 cubic centimetres.
  8. 12 · One layer has 3 × 2 = 6 blocks. Two layers make 6 + 6 = 12 cm³.
  9. He missed some cubes in the second layer · Two equal layers of 5 should give 5 + 5 = 10 cm³, not 7. Some cubes in the second layer must have been missed.
  10. 10 · Five buckets of 2 litres each add up: 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 10 litres.
Worksheet · LightMySky