Curriculum placement
Grade 5. This describes the skill, not a learner estimate.
Volume in unit cubes
Interpret volume as a count of unit cubes
Problem types
- Volume from unit cubes
- One layer of cubes
- Which words name the volume
- Layers and the edge product
- Expressions that count the cubes
- Which solid is these layers
Builds on
- Area of a rectangle
- Measuring length with equal units · Earlier idea
Measuring with equal units extends from length to area to volume, where the unit is a cube.
Leads to
- Volume of a rectangular prism
- Volume with fractional edge lengths · Extend the idea
Counting unit cubes extends to packing a prism with cubes of fractional edge length.
Related skills
- Cavalieri's principle · Related idea
Stacking layers of unit cubes is the idea behind Cavalieri: solids with equal layers at each height have equal volume.
- Area and perimeter problems · Shared foundations
- Fractions of an area · Shared foundations
- Area of triangles and other polygons · Shared foundations
Open the interactive map to explore lessons and skill connections.