Area and volume

What they’re learning

Your child is connecting area of two-dimensional shapes with volume of three-dimensional objects. Volume measures how many cubic units fill a space.

Explain it to my child

Area covers a surface with squares. Volume fills a solid with cubes.

Try it together

Use small cubes, LEGO bricks, or identical boxes to build rectangular prisms. Count layers and connect length × width × height to the total number of cubes.

Practice

1. Area of 7 cm by 4 cm rectangle?
2. Volume of 3 × 4 × 5 rectangular prism?
3. A box has base area 12 cm² and height 4 cm. Volume?
4. Which unit suits volume: cm or cm³?
5. A rectangle has area 36 cm² and length 9 cm. Width?

Check understanding

• Can your child explain the difference between square and cubic units?
• Can they see volume as layers of equal unit cubes?