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Volume in simple language is a measure of an object that is 3D in nature to find the capacity of an object. The volume tells the capacity that an object can hold i.e., it helps to measure how much space is available in a three-dimensional object. The best way to calculate or visualize the capacity of an object or to visualize the volume of an object is to think of an object in terms of a closed figure which is occupied by 3 dimensions.
Definition of a Volume
Volume in mathematical terms can be defined as a scalar quantity expressing the amount of space available in an enclosed 3 dimension object. Volume is also termed capacity. For example, the amount of water a bottle can contain.
In terms of chemistry, all matters occupy space, and this is what is defined as volume.
Volume can be of different types:
- Molar volume
- Net volume
Volume is normally quantified numerically using a SI unit. A commonly used SI unit is cubic meters. The volume of an object can also be measured in a cubic foot, cubic inches, centimeters etc, however, the measurement of a cuboid or the rectangular prism is done in cubic meters.
Volumes of some of the basic objects can be easily found using the formulas which are regular, circular-shaped or straight-edged such as a sphere, cone, cube, rectangular prism etc.
Cube | a3 where a is the length of each side of a cube The volume of a cube depends upon all the three equal sides of the cube. |
Rectangular prism (also known as cuboid) | l x w x h where l is the length, w is the width or the breadth and h is the height |
Sphere | 4/3 πr3 where r is the radius |
Cylinder | πr2h, where r is the radius and h, is the height |
Cone | ⅓ π r2h, where r is the radius and h, is the height |
prism | Base area x height |
pyramid | ⅓ area of base x height |
Hemi sphere | ⅔ π r3 |
However, sometimes it is difficult to visualize the object it is complicated to find out the volume for example in the case of a cuboid or a cube when it becomes difficult to find the volume either by visualization or by formulas then the volume is found out by counting the number of cubes or the cuboid contained by the cube or the cuboid. Sometimes, the objects are complex and thereafter, integral calculus is also taken into consideration to find the volume.
Some of the facts related to the volume are:
- As the sides of the cube are equal, the volume of the cube will be the cube of the sides.
- The volume of cuboid and rectangular prisms can be found by the same formula.
- If the radius of a cone and a cylinder are the same, then the volume of the cone will be equal to one-third of the volume of the cylinder.
Unlike mass, volume can change depending upon factors such as temperature, pressure etc. for example, to be more precise, in terms of volume of gas, no fixed volume can be stated without taking into consideration the volume of a container.
Unit of a Volume
The volume of an object is measured in units. For example, if the sides of the units of the measurements are provided in meters, then the volume of the object shall be in terms of cubic meters. In a simple sense, any unit of length gives the unit of the volume. As we know that area is calculated in square units and volume is measured in cubic units. This is because the volume is measured in three-dimension objects and the area is measured for two-dimension objects.
In real life, the most common unit of volume which has been used is a milliliter because most of the time liquids and solutions are dealt with in laboratories. Also, it is convenient to convert them into metric systems.
Conclusion
The volume of an object or a container is generally understood to understand the amount of fluid, gas or solid which can be contained by the container rather than understanding the amount of space in which the container displaces itself. Therefore, from the above article, it is clear about the definition of the volume and the volume formula units which are used while measuring the volume.
