Volume in Cubic Feet: Introduction, Definition, Examples

 

The volume of cubic feet is space occupied by a cube having the length of its sides exactly one foot. A cubic foot is also used as a measuring unit of unit rate of flow of gas molecules from one side to another.

It can be written as feet³, regarding the three-dimensional (3D) solid object i-e; an object with length, width, and height. It measures the capacity of containers, rooms, and others. In this topic, we will acknowledge the measurement of cubic feet with its formula.

What is meant by volume in cubic feet?

The cubic foot is a mathematical term which use to describe a space of any arbitrary object occupied. It often means to measure volume or capacity. Generally, it is a unit of measurement of volume of a cubic object.

While measuring something, we always use units. Therefore, the unit of volume is ‘cubic units’. Different kinds of units of length including  m³, cm³, and inch³ are used depending on the given units. For any arbitrary solid with dimensions:

The formula for the volume of the cubic solid is given as:

                                    Volume of cubic solid = l × b × h = lbh ft³ or cubic feet

·         Length ‘l’ ft

·         Width ‘w’ ft

·         Height ‘h’ ft

Where:

·         The length is the measurement of an object on its longest side.

·         The breadth of an object is the dimension that is perpendicular to the given length.

·         Height refers to the dimension of an object, which is perpendicular to its length and width as well.

Way to find the volume in cubic feet

 For any arbitrary solid with given dimensions:

·         Length = 1ft

·         breadth = 1ft

·         Height = 1ft

Then, its volume will be:

                        The Volume of cubic solid = l × b × h

                                                           = 1ft ×  1ft × 1ft

                                                           = 1ft³

Steps:

·         Step 1: Identify breadth, and height and the length, of solid in feet.

·         Step 2: Find the multiple of the three given dimensions to get the volume.

·         Step 3: Now write the volume calculated in cubic feet.

Basic Units of Conversions

The following table shows how we can change other units of measurement into feet.

Measurement unit	Conversion to feet	Measurement unit	Conversion to feet
Mile	Multiply by 5289	Kilometer	Multiply by 3281
yard	Multiply by 3	Meter	Multiply by 3.281
Inch	Divide by 12	Centimeter	Divide by 30.48

 

Noted that It is not necessary to convert other units of measurement into feet before using the formula.

The following table tells how to change other cubic units into cubic feet units.

Cubic unit	Conversion to cubic feet	Cubic unit	Conversion to cubic feet
Cubic Mile	Multiply by 147,197,952,000	Cubic Kilometer	Multiply by 35,314,666,720
Cubic yard	Multiply by 27	Cubic Meter	Multiply by 35.3147
Cubic Inch	Divide by 1728	Cubic Centimeter	Divide by 28316.8466

 

These calculations will allow you to convert measurements of volume in these cubic units into cubic feet.

Examples of Finding Volume in Cubic Feet

Let us solve some examples relevant to this topic to understand it well.

Example1: 

At Bin Qasim Port Karachi, there are 500 rectangular containers carrying different kinds of stuff. If each of the 500 containers measures  15 feet in length, 8 feet in width, and 6 feet in height. Determine the volume in cubic feet of each container.

Solution:

Here,

Length = 15 ft, Width = 8 ft, Height = 6 ft

The formula to calculate the volume of a rectangular container in cubic feet is given by:

Volume = Length × Width × Height

Since all the values of a given rectangular container are measured in feet. By putting l=15ft, w=8ft , h=6ft

We have;

                                     Volume of rectangular container = 15ft × 8ft × 6ft

                                                                                            = 720 ft³

So, each rectangular container’s volume is 720 ft³

Example2:

In a Government school, all the classrooms on the ground floor have dimensions of 16 feet in length, 7 feet in width, and 8 feet in height. Calculate the volume of each classroom on the ground floor.

Solution:

Here,

Length = 16 ft, Width = 7 ft, Height = 8 ft

The formula to calculate the volume of a classroom in cubic feet is given:

Volume = Length × Width × Height

Since all the values of a given classroom are measured in feet. By putting l=16ft, w=7ft , h=8ft

We have;

Volume of rectangular container = 16ft × 7ft × 8ft

                                                                                            = 896 ft³

So, each rectangular container’s volume is 896 ft³

Example3:

A clown presents different tricks in an exhibition. One of his tricks is to a box with a length of 10 inches, a width of 8 inches, and a height of 5 inches; calculate the volume of this box in cubic feet.

Solution:

To calculate the volume of the box in cubic feet, firstly we have to convert the measurements from inches to feet and then we will use the formula for volume.

Given:

Length = 10 inches

Width = 8 inches

Height = 6 inches

We know that 12 inches are there in a single foot, we will divide each number by 12 to convert the measurement to feet.

Length (in feet) = 10 / 12 = 0.833 feet

Width (in feet) =  8 / 12 = 0.667 feet

Height (in feet) = 6 / 12 = 0.5 feet

∴ Volume = Length × Width × Height

Volume in cubic feet = 0.833 × 0.667 × 0.5 = 0.277 ft³

Hence, the volume of the box is 0.277 ft³

A cubic ft calculator is an essential source to find the volume of any object in cubic feet with steps to get rid from lengthy calculations.

Importance of cubic-feet in daily life

Cubic feet play a sufficient role in our daily life. Here are some key reasons and applications for the importance of cubic feet:

Home management: The concept of cubic feet has much importance in home management for the renovation of the house, we need to know about the exact volume of a room, kitchen, TV lounge, etc to find the quantity of paint, flooring, wallpaper, lumber, or concrete you need for your project.

Packaging and Shipping: For Cargo services,  Companies involved in packaging and shipping goods rely on cubic feet to handle their logistics. Calculating the volume of boxes helps to determine appropriate sizes and shipping container capacity.

Manufacturing and Industries: In various industries, such as construction, manufacturing, supermarket, and logistics, understanding the concept of cubic feet is crucial for production planning, material management, etc. It enables them to accurately estimate quantities, plan storage capacities, and optimize production processes.

Design of structures: In engineering, engineers use the concept of cubic feet to calculate the volume of structures such as buildings, bridges, and tunnels, for ensuring their stability and safety. After taking into mind the concept of cubic feet, the engineers may improve the reliability of their projects.

Measurement of water and other fluids: The term cubic feet is used to measure the volume of water and other liquid substances, which is important in the design of pipes, and tanks. This helps them to ensure that the system can easily handle the required volume of fluid and is designed to prevent leaks and other issues.

 Vehicle payload calculation: The concept of cubic feet is used to calculate the payload of trucks, ships, heavy machinery, and other vehicles. The capacity of any heavy machinery is an important characteristic that has a greater impact on the overall efficiency or reliability of the entire system of goods transportation.

Conclusion:

In this topic, we have described the cubic feet and its formula. After that, we studied the method of finding the cubic feet. The importance of cubic feet in the field of engineering is also described in this article.