Enter the radius or the diameter of a sphere to get its volume and surface area. The page also shows the great-circle circumference and converts the volume to litres and US gallons, which is handy for balls, bubbles, round tanks and planets alike.
24 solids in six groups. Enter the dimensions and the model updates instantly.
Prices are in whatever currency you use. The material price needs a material or density above.
Export the shape at your real size for 3D printing, or print a flat net you can cut out and fold into a paper model.
Type the radius, or switch to Diameter if you measured straight across the ball. To work backwards from a volume, choose Radius from a target volume under What do you want to find?.
This page is the sphere view of the full 3D Shape Calculator, which covers 24 solids. Every shape button is still available, so you can compare solids without leaving the page.
In every formula, r is a radius, h is a height or depth, and all measurements must use the same unit. The result is in that unit cubed for volume and squared for area.
A basketball has a diameter of about 24 cm, so r = 12 cm. Its volume is (4/3) × π × 12³ ≈ 7,238 cm³, close to 7.24 litres of air, and its surface area is 4 × π × 12² ≈ 1,810 cm².
Spheres appear in sports balls, ball bearings, spherical tanks, bubbles, droplets, ornaments and planets. Engineers use the volume to size spherical pressure vessels, and manufacturers use the surface area to estimate the coating a ball needs.
What is the formula for the volume of a sphere? V = (4/3) × π × r³, where r is the radius. Cube the radius, multiply by π and by four, then divide by three.
How is a sphere related to the cylinder around it? Archimedes showed that a sphere has exactly two thirds of the volume, and two thirds of the surface area, of the cylinder that just contains it.
What happens to the volume when the radius doubles? The volume becomes eight times larger because the radius is cubed, and the surface area becomes four times larger because the radius is squared.
How do I find the radius if I know the volume? Use r = (3V / 4π) raised to the power one third. Or choose Radius from a target volume in this calculator and enter the volume in litres, gallons or cubic units.