Convert one cubic meter to cubic decimeters.

One cubic meter equals one thousand cubic decimeters, so one meter cubed is one thousand decimeters cubed.

Think of a meter as a long ruler that is ten decimeters long, and when you cube a measurement you multiply length by width by height, so you take ten decimeters times ten decimeters times ten decimeters which gives you one thousand decimeters cubed. Cubing is just repeated multiplication three times, so changing the unit from meters to decimeters multiplies by ten for each dimension, and that becomes ten times ten times ten. That is why the small cube made of decimeters fits one thousand times into the bigger meter cube, because each side of the big cube is ten small units long.

A common mistake is thinking you only multiply by ten instead of by ten three times, which leads to saying the answer is ten decimeters cubed instead of one thousand decimeters cubed; remember to apply the conversion to every dimension. Another error is treating volume units like linear units and not cubing the conversion factor, so always raise the conversion factor to the third power when converting cubic units. A helpful tip is to rewrite the converted side length first and then cube it so you can see the ten times ten times ten clearly.

For more clear videos and practice problems on unit conversion and volume, check out www.gumballdegree.com.

Convert m³ to dm³

1. Meter equals 10 dm
2. Cube multiplies three dimensions
3. Multiply side lengths three times
4. Convert each dimension by ten
5. Ten × ten × ten = 1000

Common Volume Conversion Mistakes

1. Multiplying by ten only
2. Treating volume like length
3. Not cubing conversion factor

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