What is meters cubed per second a unit of?

Answer 1

The unit m3s-1 can represent a multitude of things, depending upon the context.

It is most likely to represent the rate of change of volume, with respect to (wrt) time:

dV

dt

This is commonly a feature of problems in which a container is being filled at a certain rate (in m3s-1). The volume at any particular moment in time, V will simply be the integral of dv/dt, wrt time, after setting an additional constant such that V(t=k) generates the volume known for a specific time t=k.

Additionally, in a purely mathematical sense, it is possible to represent the force exerted in an area throughout a period of time, per unit mass, using this unit.

This (fictional) measure, with expression FAt/m [F=force(N), A=area(m^2), t=time(s), m=mass(kg)] arises, as 1N=1kgms-2, and so:

FAt/m -> kgms-2m2s kg-1 = kg0m3s-1 = m3s-1

This expression is also equivalent to moment in an area, per unit mass (pA/m) or simply velocity in an area (Av).

Any equation involving a product of length cubed and the reciprocal of time, with any additional units cancelling will also result in this unit, although most of these have no present applications in the field of physics.

Answer 2

This question cannot be answered sensibly. A cubic metre per second is a measure of flow rate, with dimensions [L3T-1]. A metre per second is a measure of speed, with dimensions [LT-1]. Basic dimensional analysis teaches that you cannot convert between measures with different dimensions such as these without additional information, such as the cross section of the relevant channel or pipe.

Answer 3

That's called Jerk.