Cubic metre facts for kids

The cubic metre (symbol m³) is a way to measure how much space something takes up. It's the official unit of volume in the SI system. Imagine a perfect cube that is one metre long, one metre wide, and one metre tall. That's exactly one cubic metre! It's big enough to hold 1,000 litres of liquid.

Sometimes, you might hear it called a "cubic meter" (especially in American English). Other less common names are stère or kilolitre.

What is a Cubic Metre?

This big block of concrete is one cubic metre. It shows how much concrete is made each year for every person in the world!

The cubic metre is a standard unit for measuring volume. It's like a box that is 1 meter long, 1 meter wide, and 1 meter high. It helps us measure large amounts of things, like water in a swimming pool or dirt for a construction project.

How Big is a Cubic Metre?

A cubic metre is quite large! Here are some ways to understand its size:

• It holds exactly 1,000 litres. Think of 1,000 milk cartons!
• It's about the same volume as 35 large cubic feet.
• It's a bit more than one cubic yard.
• It can hold about 6 large oil barrels.

If you fill a cubic metre with pure water at a normal temperature (around 4 °C), it would weigh exactly 1,000 kg. That's the same as one tonne!

Other Ways to Write Cubic Metre

Sometimes, when you can't use the small "³" symbol, you might see the cubic metre written in other ways. These include:

• cu m
• m3
• m^3

In the shipping world, the cubic metre is often called CBM.

Bigger and Smaller Cubic Units

Just like you have kilometres and centimetres, there are bigger and smaller versions of the cubic metre. These are called multiples and submultiples.

Bigger Units (Multiples)

These units are used for very large volumes.

Cubic Decametre

• This is the volume of a cube with sides that are 10 metres long.
• It's equal to 1,000 cubic metres.
• We can also call it a megalitre (1 ML).
• 1 dam³ = 1,000 m³ = 1 ML

Cubic Hectometre

• This is the volume of a cube with sides that are 100 metres long.
• It's equal to 1,000,000 (one million) cubic metres.
• We can also call it a gigalitre (1 GL).
• 1 hm³ = 1,000,000 m³ = 1 GL

Cubic Kilometre

• This is the volume of a cube with sides that are 1,000 metres (1 kilometre) long.
• It's equal to 1,000,000,000 (one billion) cubic metres.
• We can also call it a teralitre (1 TL).
• 1 km³ = 1,000,000,000 m³ = 1 TL

Smaller Units (Submultiples)

These units are used for very small volumes.

Cubic Decimetre

• This is the volume of a cube with sides that are 0.1 metres (10 centimetres) long.
• It's equal to 0.001 cubic metres.
• This unit is exactly the same as one litre (1 L).
• 1 dm³ = 0.001 m³ = 1 L

Cubic Centimetre

• This is the volume of a cube with sides that are 0.01 metres (1 centimetre) long.
• It's equal to 0.000001 cubic metres.
• This unit is exactly the same as one millilitre (1 mL).
• 1 cm³ = 0.000001 m³ = 1 mL

Cubic Millimetre

• This is the volume of a cube with sides that are 0.001 metres (1 millimetre) long.
• It's equal to 0.000000001 cubic metres.
• This unit is exactly the same as one microlitre (1 µL).
• 1 mm³ = 0.000000001 m³ = 1 µL

See also

In Spanish: Metro cúbico para niños