Subscribe

6th grade · Math · Unit 17 of 17

Nets & Surface Area

Unfold a box

What your child practices

Using nets made of rectangles and triangles to find the surface area of prisms and pyramids.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 6.27 · using nets of three-dimensional figures to find surface area

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. A net is a solid unfolded flat.
  2. Find the area of every face in the net.
  3. Add them all: that is the surface area.

Example: A box is 2 cm by 3 cm by 4 cm. What is its surface area? Two 2 × 3 faces: 12. Two 2 × 4 faces: 16. Two 3 × 4 faces: 24. 12 + 16 + 24 = 52. Answer: 52 cm²

Nets & Surface Area in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 17 of 17 in 6th grade Math, after Unit Rates.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    A box is 7 cm by 4 cm by 6 cm. Use its net to find its surface area.

    • 189 cm²
    • 122 cm²
    • 188 cm²
    • 94 cm²
    • 168 cm²

  2. Question 2

    A square pyramid has a base 8 ft on each side. Each triangle face has a height of 5 ft. What is its surface area?

    • 144 ft²
    • 143 ft²
    • 208 ft²
    • 224 ft²
    • 80 ft²

  3. Question 3

    Which shapes make up a net of a triangular pyramid?

    • 4 triangles
    • 3 triangles and 1 square
    • 6 triangles
    • 2 triangles and 3 rectangles

  4. Question 4

    A cube has edges 10 in long. What is its surface area?

    • 400 in²
    • 600 in²
    • 1000 in²
    • 60 in²
    • 597 in²

  5. Question 5

    A square pyramid has a base 5 ft on each side. Each triangle face has a height of 4 ft. What is its surface area?

    • 105 ft²
    • 40 ft²
    • 65 ft²
    • 90 ft²
    • 64 ft²

  6. Question 6

    Which shapes make up a net of a rectangular prism?

    • 6 rectangles
    • 6 triangles
    • 4 rectangles and 2 triangles
    • 5 rectangles

More 6th grade