Circumference, Area and Volume

Become familiar with methods used to calculate two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects.

Calculate Circumference, Area and Volume

Measurement calculations are important in daily life. Area calculations are needed in many activities, including planning a garden, determining how much paint to cover a surface, or purchasing new carpet. Calculating volume is important when purchasing fuel, estimating beverages for a birthday celebration, planning hydration for a long hike, or selecting an appropriate storage container. Apply these basic formulas to calculate circumference, area, and volume of simple geometric shapes commonly used in weights and measures applications.  TIP: Express all dimensions in terms of the same unit - for example, in terms of meter. A computed area will then be in terms of the square of the dimensional unit used - for example, square meter (m²) - and a computed volume will be in terms of the cube of the dimensional unit used - for example, cubic meter (m³).

• Circumference of circle: 3.1416 × diameter
• Area of circle: 0.7854 × diameter × diameter
• Area of rectangle: length × width
• Capacity of rectangular bin: length × width × depth
• Volume of cylinder: 0.7854 × diameter × diameter × height
• Approximate capacity of container having sloping sides: vertical height × one-half the sum of top area and bottom area

Basic Definitions

• Perimeter: The continuous line forming the boundary of a closed geometric figure.

  

• Circumference: The distance around the edge of a circle (or any curvy shape). A type of perimeter.
• Diameter: Any straight line segment between two points on the circumference of a circle that passes through the center of the circle. Twice the length of the radius of a circle.
• Area: The size of a surface. The amount of space inside the boundary of flat shape or the surface of an object. Measured in square units.
• Volume: The measurement of amount of space occupied inside the three dimensional space. Measured in cubic units.
• Capacity: The maximum amount that an object can contain. Measured in cubic units.

Navigate to more SI base unit information:

• SI Units
• Length – meter (m)
• Time – second (s)
• Amount of substance – mole (mole)
• Electric current – ampere (A)
• Temperature – kelvin (K)
• Luminous intensity – candela (cd)
• Mass – kilogram (kg)
• Area
• Volume
• Prefixes
• U.S. Metrication
• U.S. Metrication FAQs
• Metric Kitchen
• National Metric Week
• NEST-R (STEM Registry)
• NIST Educational Resources