Cube facts for kids
A cube is a 3D shape that looks like a perfect box. All its sides are perfectly square, and its height, width, and depth are exactly the same. Imagine a dice or a sugar cube – those are great examples!
A cube is one of the basic shapes in geometry. If something looks like a cube, we often say it's cubic.
Contents
What Makes a Cube Special?
A cube is a 3D (three-dimensional) shape. This means it has length, width, and height. Think of it like a real object you can hold. A square, on the other hand, is a 2D (two-dimensional) shape, like a drawing on a piece of paper. It only has length and width.
The flat surfaces of a cube are called its faces. Each face is a perfect square. The lines where two faces meet are called edges. The points where edges meet are called corners or vertices.
A typical cube has:
- 6 faces (all squares)
- 12 edges (all straight lines)
- 8 corners (all at right angles)
You can see all these parts on a regular six-sided dice.
How to Find a Cube's Volume
The volume of a cube tells you how much space it takes up. To find the volume, you need to know the length of one of its edges. Since all edges of a cube are the same length, it doesn't matter which one you pick!
Here's how you calculate it:
- Take the length of one edge.
- Multiply that number by itself.
- Then, multiply the result by itself again.
For example, if the edge length is called 'd', the formula for volume is: Volume = d × d × d (which can also be written as Volume = d3)
Cube-Shaped Things You See Every Day
Many objects around us are shaped like cubes!
- Dice: These are classic examples of cubes, used in many games.
- Boxes: Some boxes, especially small ones, are perfect cubes.
- Building blocks: Many toy blocks for kids are cube-shaped.
Images for kids
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Net of a cube – this is what a cube looks like if you flatten it out.
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Octahedral symmetry tree – cubes have a special kind of balance called symmetry.
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These familiar six-sided dice are cube-shaped.
See also
Cubo para niños (Cube for kids in Spanish)
