Converting Between Cubic Feet and Cubic Yards

Date: 05/09/2002 at 21:45:26
From: Janice
Subject: Metric Conversion

How many cubic feet are in a cubic yard and how do I figure this 
out?

Date: 05/10/2002 at 10:09:03
From: Doctor Ian
Subject: Re: Metric Conversion

Hi Janice,

One way to do it would be to draw a cubic yard - that is, a cube 
where each edge is a yard long:

         +-----------+
        /           /|
       /           / |
      /           /  |  1 yard
     /           /   |
    /           /    |
   +-----------+     +
   |           |    /
   |           |   /
   |           |  /  1 yard
   |           | /
   |           |/
   +-----------+
      1 yard


Then divide it into cubic feet - that is, a bunch of cubes where 
each edge is a foot long:

         +---+---+---+
        /   /   /   /|
       +---+---+---+ +
      /   /   /   /|/|  
     +---+---+---+ + +
    /   /   /   /|/|/|
   +---+---+---+ + + +
   |   |   |   |/|/|/
   +---+---+---+ + +
   |   |   |   |/|/   
   +---+---+---+ +
   |   |   |   |/
   +---+---+---+
       
How many of the smaller cubes fit in to the larger cube?  That's 
the number of cubic feet in a cubic yard.
  
Does this help? 

- Doctor Ian, The Math Forum
  http://mathforum.org/dr.math/