Video Transcript
A type of nanoparticle known as a nanocube is shown in the diagram. Using the dimensions provided, what is the volume of the nanoparticle?
In science, we use the prefix nano-, which means a billionth of, when measuring very small particles. One nanometer is the same as one billionth of a meter. The unit for nanometers is nm. And we often express nanometer values in terms of scientific notation when using bigger units, such as meters. A nanoparticle is defined as a particle between one and 100 nanometers wide, high, and deep. So a cube-shaped particle for example that is 100 nanometers high, 100 nanometers wide, and 100 nanometers long or smaller is a nanoparticle. Specifically, these shaped nanoparticles are called nanocubes. Another type of nanoparticle, a nanosphere, has a spherical shape and would fit into a box the size of 100 by 100 by 100 nanometers.
There are a variety of geometric shapes of different nanoparticles. Nanoparticles are a hot topic in science at the moment because they’re very small volumes, and their correspondingly very large surface areas give them different and unique properties compared to bulk materials of the same substance. In this question, we are asked to calculate the volume of this nanoparticle. We know that the volume of any cuboid structure is given by length times height times width. The diagram shows the length is 30 nanometers, the height is 30 nanometers, and the width is 30 nanometers. We also know that for a cube, the length, width, and height are all the same.
Putting in our values, 30 nanometers times 30 nanometers times 30 nanometers, we get 27000 as the numerical portion of the answer. And since we have nanometers multiplied by nanometers multiplied by nanometers, the unit part of the answer is nanometers cubed. The question asks, what is the volume of this nanoparticle? And the answer is 27000 nanometers cubed.