Hey there! Today we’re going to learn about volume and how to change one measurement to another using something called conversion.
Imagine you have a garden. You might want to know how much space your plants will take up in your garden bed. Volume is the amount of space an object occupies, and in our case, we’re looking at cubic meters and cubic feet.
Table of Contents
What is a cubic meter and a cubic foot?
- A cubic meter is a big box that’s one meter tall, one meter wide, and one meter long. It can hold a lot of things, just like a big storage box!
- A cubic foot is smaller. It’s a box that’s one foot tall, one foot wide, and one foot long.
Converting from cubic meters to cubic feet
To convert from cubic meters to cubic feet, we use the conversion factor:
$$
1 \text{ cubic meter} = 35.3147 \text{ cubic feet}
$$
So, when we want to find out how many cubic feet are in 1.7 cubic meters, we multiply:
$$
1.7 \text{ cubic meters} \times 35.3147 \text{ cubic feet/cubic meter} \approx 60.05799 \text{ cubic feet}
$$
That means 1.7 cubic meters is about 60.06 cubic feet!
Everyday objects that fit
To help you visualize how much space that is, here are 7 objects that are about the same volume as 1.7 cubic meters (or 60.06 cubic feet):
- A large water cooler (like the ones you see in offices).
- A small garden shed.
- A refrigerator.
- An average-sized washing machine.
- About 5 large bags of potting soil (each bag is around 12 gallons).
- A large dog house.
- A small chest freezer.
Now you can imagine how much space those items take up and understand cubic meters and cubic feet better! Happy gardening! 🌱
