In this lesson, students are formally introduced to cube roots and cube root notation where is the length of the edge of a cube whose volume is cubic units. The cube root of a number is the number whose cube is .

Students begin by ordering solutions to equations of the form and . Since they are already familiar with square roots and square root notation, this allows for a smooth transition to the parallel definition of cube roots. In the next activity, students complete a table connecting the edge length of a cube with its volume and a volume equation (MP2).

In the final activity, a Card Sort helps students make connections between square roots and cube roots as values, as solutions to equations, and as points on the number line. Students will have an opportunity to continue working with cube roots in the next lesson.