Worksheet Grade 5 Math

Dunmore's Rooftop Cistern: A Grade 5 Tank Volume Worksheet

A grade 5 worksheet where students find the volume of a fictional family's rainwater cistern in cubic feet and gallons and compare two tank designs for a dry summer.

Grade: Grade 5
Subject: Math
Material: Worksheet
Time: 35 min
Prep: No prep
Materials: None

Standards

5.MD.C.5 Common Core Math

Relate volume to the operations of multiplication and addition and solve real world and mathematical problems involving volume, including applying the formulas V = l x w x h and V = b x h for rectangular prisms.

How this material aligns: Items 1, 4, 5, and 9 apply V = length x width x depth to a rectangular rainwater cistern and compare the volumes of two tank designs, the real-world volume application this standard requires of grade 5 students.

All materials for 5.MD.C.5 →

5.NBT.B.7 Common Core Math

Add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals to hundredths, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate the strategy to a written method and explain the reasoning used.

How this material aligns: Item 2 multiplies by the decimal 7.48, items 3 and 6 subtract and divide a decimal gallon total, and item 7 adds gallon amounts to hundredths, exercising the decimal operations this standard names.

All materials for 5.NBT.B.7 →

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This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely, without attribution. Updated 2026-07-23.

Objectives

Students will calculate the volume of a rectangular cistern in cubic feet and convert it to gallons.
Students will compare two tank designs by volume and add and divide decimal gallon amounts.
Students will explain how storing rainwater helps a town during a dry summer.

Vocabulary

Cistern: A large tank that stores rainwater collected from a roof so it can be used later, usually for watering plants.

Also: volume, gallon, conserve, capacity

Teacher overview

In the fictional town of Dunmore, the Vega family installs a rainwater cistern, a large rectangular tank that catches water off their roof, so they can water the garden through a dry summer without using treated drinking water. This worksheet has students find how much the cistern holds, in cubic feet and in gallons, compare two tank designs, and work with the decimal amounts a family would actually record. Throughout the worksheet, one cubic foot of water counts as 7.48 gallons. Show your work on every item.

Dunmore's Rooftop Cistern: A Grade 5 Tank Volume Worksheet — Grade 5 Math

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Student Worksheet

The Vega family's cistern is a rectangular tank 6 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 5 feet deep. Find its volume in cubic feet using V = length x width x depth.
One cubic foot of water is 7.48 gallons. Convert your answer from item 1 into gallons.
The family has already collected 500 gallons of rainwater. Using your answer from item 2, how many more gallons can the cistern hold before it is full?
A taller cistern design is 6 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 6 feet deep. Find its volume in cubic feet.
How many more cubic feet does the taller cistern (item 4) hold than the first cistern (item 1)?
The garden uses 30 gallons of water each day. If the first cistern is full at 897.6 gallons, for how many full days can it water the garden?
In one week the family adds 42.5 gallons of rainwater on Monday and 58.75 gallons on Tuesday. How many gallons did they add on those two days in all?
The flat lid on top of the first cistern is a rectangle 6 feet long and 4 feet wide. Find the area of the lid in square feet.
Which holds more water: a cistern 6 feet by 4 feet by 6 feet, or a cistern 8 feet by 4 feet by 4 feet? Find each volume and tell which is larger.
Explain why collecting rainwater in a cistern helps the town of Dunmore during a dry summer. Write one or two sentences.

From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.

Answer Key

Answer: 120 cubic feet. V = 6 x 4 x 5 = 120 cubic feet.
Answer: 897.6 gallons. 120 cubic feet x 7.48 gallons per cubic foot = 897.6 gallons.
Answer: 397.6 gallons. 897.6 - 500 = 397.6 gallons of room left before the cistern is full.
Answer: 144 cubic feet. V = 6 x 4 x 6 = 144 cubic feet.
Answer: 24 cubic feet. 144 - 120 = 24 cubic feet more in the taller cistern.
Answer: 29 full days. 897.6 gallons divided by 30 gallons per day equals 29.92, so the cistern supplies 29 complete days of garden water.
Answer: 101.25 gallons. 42.5 + 58.75 = 101.25 gallons added over the two days.
Answer: 24 square feet. Area = 6 x 4 = 24 square feet for the rectangular lid.
Answer: The 6-by-4-by-6 cistern holds more. Its volume is 6 x 4 x 6 = 144 cubic feet, while the other is 8 x 4 x 4 = 128 cubic feet, so the first is larger by 16 cubic feet.
Answer: Storing rainwater lets the family water the garden without using treated drinking water, which saves the town's supply when water is scarce and helps everyone stay within summer water limits.

Differentiation

Support

Provide a printed rule strip reading "cubic feet x 7.48 = gallons" and a labeled box diagram marking length, width, and depth. Allow a calculator, and give item 1's volume already worked so students can focus on the conversion and comparison items.

Extension

Ask students to design a third cistern that holds exactly 180 cubic feet, giving its length, width, and depth, and to show the multiplication that proves it. Then have them convert that volume to gallons and explain which design would fit best against a narrow house wall.

ELL supports

Provide a visual glossary card for "cistern," "volume," "capacity," and "conserve," each with a small sketch. Allow students to answer items 9 and 10 with labeled drawings and short phrases where the math work is shown separately.