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.

Arizona Academic Standards learning standard: 6.G.A.4 · representing three-dimensional figures with nets and using them 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 Arizona

In the Arizona Academic Standards, 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: Arizona Department of Education

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 3 cm by 3 cm by 4 cm. Use its net to find its surface area.

    • 66 cm²
    • 33 cm²
    • 64 cm²
    • 36 cm²
    • 42 cm²

  2. Question 2

    A square pyramid has a base 7 ft on each side. Each triangle face has a height of 3 ft. What is its surface area?

    • 90 ft²
    • 42 ft²
    • 140 ft²
    • 133 ft²
    • 91 ft²

  3. Question 3

    Which shapes make up a net of a cube?

    • 4 squares
    • 5 squares and 1 triangle
    • 2 circles and 1 rectangle
    • 6 squares

  4. Question 4

    A cube has edges 5 in long. What is its surface area?

    • 125 in²
    • 147 in²
    • 150 in²
    • 100 in²
    • 30 in²

  5. Question 5

    A square pyramid has a base 8 ft on each side. Each triangle face has a height of 6 ft. What is its surface area?

    • 160 ft²
    • 96 ft²
    • 157 ft²
    • 224 ft²
    • 256 ft²

  6. Question 6

    A cube has edges 8 in long. What is its surface area?

    • 512 in²
    • 386 in²
    • 384 in²
    • 48 in²
    • 256 in²

More 6th grade