Mathematics

The key insight is that volume is conserved when you melt and recast metal—the total amount of material stays the same. Find the volume of the large cube, then divide by the volume of one small cube to count how many fit. Since volume scales with the cube of the side length, you're really comparing $10^3$ to $2^3$.

The key insight is that volume is conserved when you melt and recast metal—the total amount of material stays the same. Find the volume of the large cube, then divide by the volume of one small cube to count how many fit. Since volume scales with the cube of the side length, you're really comparing $10^3$ to $2^3$.