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Volume and units

The volume of a prism or a cylinder is the base area times the height. For a cylinder the base is pi times the radius squared. 1 cubic metre is 1000 litres, because 1 cubic metre is 1000 cubic decimetres and 1 cubic decimetre is 1 litre. 1 square metre is 10,000 square centimetres, so area and volume have different conversions. Finish the calculation in metres, and convert to litres at the end.

V = \pi r^2 h

cylinder

1\,\text{m}^3 = 1000\,\text{L}

the conversion

Symbols

$r$	radius	m
$h$	height	m
$V$	volume	m³

Example

1 m³ is $1 \cdot 1000 = 1000$ litres.

A cylinder with radius 1 m and height 2 m: $\pi \cdot 1^2 \cdot 2 \approx 6.283$ m³ $\approx 6283$ litres.

Convert to litres after the volume has been calculated in cubic metres.

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