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Author Topic: "cubic centimetres" or 'centimetres cubed"?  (Read 5571 times)

Tom B

"cubic centimetres" or 'centimetres cubed"?
« on: 22 October, 2012, 10:30:19 am »
Are these terms interchangeable, or is only one strictly 'correct'?
Is there a risk of ambiguity if one uses the latter, viz. 10cm3 = "ten centimetres-cubed", but this could be heard as "ten centimetres, cubed, i.e. 1000cm3  ( I have a vague memory of being told this at school)
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rafletcher

Re: "cubic centimetres" or 'centimetres cubed"?
« Reply #1 on: 22 October, 2012, 10:34:32 am »
Not interchangeable IMO. 10 cc is just that. 10 cm cubed is 1000 cc.
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mcshroom

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Re: "cubic centimetres" or 'centimetres cubed"?
« Reply #2 on: 22 October, 2012, 11:20:03 am »
10cm3 = 10 cc as far as I am concerned as both represent 10 ml of volume
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Mrs Pingu

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Re: "cubic centimetres" or 'centimetres cubed"?
« Reply #3 on: 22 October, 2012, 11:28:07 am »
Quote from: mcshroom on 22 October, 2012, 11:20:03 am
10cm3 = 10 cc as far as I am concerned as both represent 1 ml of volume

You mean 10ml, don't you....
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andrew_s

Re: "cubic centimetres" or 'centimetres cubed"?
« Reply #4 on: 22 October, 2012, 11:29:55 am »
The cubed bit is part of the units, not the measurement.
i.e 10 (cm3) rather than (10cm)3.
I would always call the unit "cubic centimetres" and the measurement "centimetres cubed"

I've never come across anyone confusing the two, but if you are worried, then use ml instead.
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mcshroom

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Re: "cubic centimetres" or 'centimetres cubed"?
« Reply #5 on: 22 October, 2012, 11:33:02 am »
Quote from: Mrs Pingu on 22 October, 2012, 11:28:07 am
Quote from: mcshroom on 22 October, 2012, 11:20:03 am
10cm3 = 10 cc as far as I am concerned as both represent 1 ml of volume

You mean 10ml, don't you....
I do :-[
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Pickled Onion

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Re: "cubic centimetres" or 'centimetres cubed"?
« Reply #6 on: 22 October, 2012, 12:23:19 pm »
Quote from: rafletcher on 22 October, 2012, 10:34:32 am
Not interchangeable IMO. 10 cc is just that. 10 cm cubed is 1000 cc.

Pedantically speaking, yes. But so many people read it left-to-right as written* that you can be pretty sure that anyone saying "ten cm cubed" is talking about 10 cc not 1000. Anyone talking about a cube with sides of 10 cm would say "a ten cm cube". Same with area - loads of people will say "how many metres squared is the room?" - but if you gave them the pedantic answer of the side of a square with the same area it wouldn't really make any sense.

* why is this? No-one says "pounds five note".
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Re: "cubic centimetres" or 'centimetres cubed"?
« Reply #7 on: 22 October, 2012, 03:05:36 pm »
Another difference between "ten cm cubed" (10ml, in any configuration) and "a ten cm cube" (1000ml, shaped like a cube) is that in the former cm stands for centimetres, and in the latter for centimetre. Does this help?

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tatanab

Re: "cubic centimetres" or 'centimetres cubed"?
« Reply #8 on: 23 October, 2012, 08:50:31 am »
This crops up on house improvement TV programmmes where they might describe an area as 10 metres square when it is plainly not that big but only 10 square metres.  But that is TV presenters who also take a wonder about the house whereas I would wander.
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