Because space is three dimensional (it has length, width and height) we use cubic units to measure volume. In the metric system the main units of volume are:

• cubic millimetres or mm³
• cubic centimetres or cm³
• cubic metres or m³
• a litre is also a metric measure of volume, which is the space taken by a 10 cm by 10 cm by 10 cm container.

A cubic millimetre is incredibly tiny, each side being just a millimetre in length. Each side of a cubic centimetre is 1 cm long. A cubic metre can be made out of canes or one metre rulers and it surprising how children like to sit inside the final cube!

All our volume worksheets together with many others can be found in the Year 6 Measurement category.

Year 6 Measuring Volume