Units of Volume Based on the Metre Cubed
The basic SI Unit of Volume is the metre cubed.
The main units of volume that you will use or come across are:
deci-
deci- is a new prefix in this activity
and means a tenth.
A decimetre is a tenth of a metre. Thus:
A decimetre cubed = 10-1 x 10-1 x 10-1 m3
There are therefore 1000 decimetre cubed in
1 metre cubed.
centi-
centi- is a new prefix in this activity
and means a hundredth.
A centimetre is a hundredth of a metre. Thus:
A centimetre cubed = 10-2 x 10-2 x 10-2 m3
You therefore know that there are
a million centimetre cubed in 1 metre cubed.
Also, there are a thousand centimetre cubed in
1 decimetre cubed.
millimetre cubed.
A millimetre is a thousandth of a metre. Thus:
A millimetre cubed = 10-3 x 10-3 x 10-3 m3
Thus there are a billion millimetre cubed in
1 metre cubed.
There are a thousand millimetre cubed in
1 centimetre cubed.
micrometre cubed
A micrometre is a millionth of a metre. Thus:
A micrometre cubed = 10-6 x 10-6 x 10-6 m3
There are a billion micrometre cubed in
1 millimetre cubed.