Mini Math Lesson
For use with the May/June 2011 issue, pages 12–13.
Volume of Irregular Shapes
✔ Volume is the number of cubic units in an object.
✔ To find an object’s volume, count the cubes in it. The total number
of cubes is the number of cubic units in the object.
Example: Find the volume of this Cubic spaceship.
The ship has 3 layers. There are
4 cubes in the top layer (2 by 2), 12
cubes in the second layer (6 by 2) and
6 cubes in the bottom layer (3 by 2).
You have to imagine the cubes you
can’t see. The total number of cubes is
4 + 12 + 6, or 22 cubic units.
Illustration by Ron Barrett. Scholastic Inc. grants teachers permission to reproduce this page. ©2011 by Scholastic.