Flight Mechanic

Aircraft Mechanic School Study Supplement for Future Aviation Maintenance Technicians




You are here: Home / Basic Aviation Maintenance / Aviation Mathematics / Computing Volume of Three-Dimensional Solids (Part One) Rectangular Solid
Regretfully, Flight-Mechanic will be turning out the lights after fifteen years. Google, in its infinite wisdom, has chosen to remove Flight-Mechanic from its search results (the claim is that the content on this site is spam). We appealed their decision to shut us down, to no avail.

Unfortunately, since Google has a monopoly over internet search, this means that traffic levels on the site will drop to a level that makes maintaining it uneconomic. As time progresses, we will no longer be able to maintain the server space and will remove the site from the internet. Thanks to all who have supported us over the years.

To fight back against the monopolistic practices of companies like Google, we recommend using a competing search engine such as Brave (you get the added benefit of not being spied on by Big Tech) and advocating for anti-trust legislation from your representatives.

Computing Volume of Three-Dimensional Solids (Part One) Rectangular Solid

Filed Under: Aviation Mathematics

Three-dimensional solids have length, width, and height. There are many three-dimensional solids, but the most common are rectangular solids, cubes, cylinders, spheres, and cones. Volume is the amount of space within a solid. Volume is expressed in cubic units. Cubic inches or cubic centimeters are used for small spaces and cubic feet or cubic meters for larger spaces.

Rectangular Solid

A rectangular solid is a three-dimensional solid with six rectangle-shaped sides. [Figure 1-24] The volume is the number of cubic units within the rectangular solid. The formula for the volume of a rectangular solid is:

Volume = Length × Width × Height = L × W × H

In Figure 1-24, the rectangular solid is 3 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet.

The volume of the solid in Figure 1-24 is = 3 ft × 2 ft × 2 ft = 12 cubic feet.

Figure 1-24. Rectangular solid.
Figure 1-24. Rectangular solid.

Example: A rectangular baggage compartment measures 5 feet 6 inches in length, 3 feet 4 inches in width, and 2 feet 3 inches in height. How many cubic feet of baggage will it hold? First, substitute the known values into the formula.

V = L × W × H
= 5’6″ × 3’4″ × 2’3″
= 5.5 ft × 3.33 ft × 2.25 ft
= 41.25 cubic feet

Flight Mechanic Recommends

Rod Machado's Private Pilot Handbook -Flight Literacy recommends Rod Machado's products because he takes what is normally dry and tedious and transforms it with his characteristic humor, helping to keep you engaged and to retain the information longer. (see all of Rod Machado's Products).
   
-->