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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.

Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 6.2.3.1 · the surface area of prisms

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 Minnesota

In the Minnesota K-12 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: Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)

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?

    • 483 in²
    • 324 in²
    • 486 in²
    • 729 in²
    • 54 in²

  2. Question 2

    A box is 5 cm by 4 cm by 2 cm. Use its net to find its surface area.

    • 58 cm²
    • 40 cm²
    • 76 cm²
    • 38 cm²
    • 74 cm²

  3. Question 3

    Which shapes make up a net of a rectangular prism?

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

  4. Question 4

    A square pyramid has a base 2 ft on each side. Each triangle face has a height of 4 ft. What is its surface area?

    • 20 ft²
    • 16 ft²
    • 24 ft²
    • 21 ft²
    • 36 ft²

  5. Question 5

    A cube has edges 4 in long. What is its surface area?

    • 97 in²
    • 99 in²
    • 24 in²
    • 64 in²
    • 96 in²

  6. Question 6

    Which shapes make up a net of a triangular pyramid?

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

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