Make a tornado in a bottle
16 April 2025
Make a tornado in a bottle FACT: England holds the world record for the most
We love finding maths in unexpected places – yes, even in gaming! Check out our top 5 maths hacks: Minecraft edition!
Did you know when you see the coordinates in Minecraft these are coordinates in 3d space, the very same 3d co-ordinates we use in maths? They’re written in the standard x,y,z format, with 0,0,0 being the origin point in the Minecraft world. x is your position East or West in the map, with a positive number being East of the origin, and a negative value to the West. y is the up and down, positive above ground and negative undergound. z is North and South, positive is North and negative is South. Try moving around in the Minecraft world and watch how the numbers change.
When you first start a new Minecraft game you only have a 2×2 crafting grid to work from, not much space for crafting, hey? You can only fit 4 wooden planks on here. You see where I’m going with this? The “surface area” when you begin is 4 (2×2), so we can only craft really basic things, but most importantly it is big enough to make our crafting table, a 3×3 grid with a surface area of 9. With this the crafting world really opens up!
So, you’ve started in Survival Mode, you need somewhere to hide from the hostile mobs overnight, you bash out a base as quick as you can, but you need enough room inside for a crafting table, a furnace, a smoker, a smithing table, a stonecutter… You’re going to need a bed to sleep, wall room for torches, you’re going to need space – capacity – VOLUME!
The volume of your inside space can be figured with a simple equation:
Length x Width x Height
See if you can calculate the volume of your room!
Why don’t you try calculating perimeters with Minecraft? Add up the blocks around the edge of your build, that’s the perimeter!
Did you know redstone, Minecraft’s electricity source, works like a circuit? For another challenge, see if you can research redstone computers and try to build your own one!
If you liked finding the hidden maths in Minecraft, then explore our other blogs to find more ways to enjoy maths!
Words: Emily Stone
Make a tornado in a bottle FACT: England holds the world record for the most
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