Tammy Jones, age 13, of Watertown, N.Y., for her question:

HOW LARGE IS A CORD OF WOOD?

Cord is a unit used for measuring firewood. It is a pile of wood that measures four feet wide, four feet high and eight feet long.

Because fireplaces today are smaller than they once were, some wood dealers sell what is called a "face cord." This unit is the same height and length as a cord, but it is only two feet wide rather than four feet.

Actually, the cord is not recognized as a legal measure by the U.S. government.

In wood measurements, a cord foot equals 16 cubic feet, or four feet by four feet by one foot. A cord equals eight cord feet, or four feet by four feet by eight feet.

A board foot equals 144 cubic inches, or one foot by one foot by one inch. A cord of firewood contains 126 cubic feet.

In the metric scale, a cord of firewood is 1.2 meters wide, 1.2 meters high and 2.4 meters long.