Question

why is 5^3 called 5 cubed???

Answer 1

In most languages, there are special words for very common numerical values, as well as mathematical concepts

e.g. almost every language has a special word for 12 besides the numerical name. That is, in English we use "dozen" meaning 12, in German "Dutzend" besides zwölf, etc

we say 34^2 as 34 squared, since we can form a square with sides 34 and 34

we say 5^3 as 5 cubed, since I can build a cube of length 5, width 5, and height 5