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6th grade · Math · Unit 17 of 17

Nets & Surface Area

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What your child practices

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

California Content Standards learning standard: 6.G.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

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 cube has edges 9 in long. What is its surface area?

    • 54 in²
    • 485 in²
    • 486 in²
    • 729 in²
    • 324 in²

  2. Question 2

    A square pyramid has a base 8 ft on each side. Each triangle face has a height of 10 ft. What is its surface area?

    • 384 ft²
    • 224 ft²
    • 160 ft²
    • 222 ft²
    • 288 ft²

  3. Question 3

    Which shapes make up a net of a rectangular prism?

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

  4. Question 4

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

    • 69 cm²
    • 66 cm²
    • 36 cm²
    • 33 cm²
    • 42 cm²

  5. Question 5

    A square pyramid has a base 8 ft on each side. Each triangle face has a height of 3 ft. What is its surface area?

    • 176 ft²
    • 113 ft²
    • 48 ft²
    • 112 ft²
    • 160 ft²

  6. Question 6

    Which shapes make up a net of a triangular pyramid?

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

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