How many cubic feet of sand can a pyramid hold? Did you know that it is exactly 1/3 of the volume of a rectangular prism with the same height, base, and width as the pyramid? Let’s use spreadsheets to confirm this and calculate the volume of other geometric solids.
What is volume, and why should we care about how to calculate it? Volume represents the amount of space that an object occupies. If we have a cylinder-shaped vase, how much water can it hold? How much air can a balloon hold? If we can figure out the volume of the basic geometric solids, we can solve a variety of real-world applications.
For a 3-minute video, please see below:
In our spreadsheet template, we highlight a few major geometric solids along with their formulas for volume. We can then plug in the key inputs (height, width, radius, etc) to easily determine the volume. In our template, we also introduce the function pi( ), which returns the value of pi to 14 digits.
pi ( ) = 3.14159265358979
Spreadsheets will simplify the calculations, which allows us to focus our energy on understanding the concept. They should never be viewed as a substitute for understanding the mathematical concept. Once we gain an understanding, we can solve problems more easily. This skill will carry us far further than solely memorizing formulas.
To edit the spreadsheet, first sign into your Google account. Then open the link and save a copy of the spreadsheet onto your Google drive.