Volume
- CBSE · NCERT Class 10, Ch 12 Surface Areas and Volumes
Volume is the amount of space a solid object takes up, measured in cubic units such as cm³ or m³.
Where area counts unit squares, volume counts unit cubes. A cube 1 cm on each side has a volume of 1 cm³. Count how many such cubes fill a box and you have its volume.
For liquids, volume is often called capacity and given in litres. One litre is 1000 cm³.
- Cuboid: length × breadth × height.
- Cube: side × side × side.
- Cylinder: πr²h.
- Cone: 1/3 × πr²h.
- Sphere: 4/3 × πr³.
A small example
A water tank is a cuboid 2 m long, 1.5 m wide and 1 m high. Its volume is 2 × 1.5 × 1 = 3 m³. Each cubic metre holds 1000 litres, so the tank holds 3000 litres.
A cylinder has radius 7 cm and height 10 cm. Taking π as 22/7, its volume is 22/7 × 7 × 7 × 10 = 1540 cm³.
Why it matters later
Class 10 Chapter 12 joins shapes, such as a cone on a hemisphere. The volume of combined solids is the sum of the parts. Knowing each basic formula well is what makes those longer questions manageable.
Sources
Facts last checked against these sources on 30 September 2026.
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