Curated OER
Teach Surface Area and Volume in the Most Engaging Way!
Build a Zarcon-proof home as a math activity that will provide tremendous advantages for engagement, for differentiation, and for mastery of concepts. This activity focuses specifically on surface area and volume using mathematical...
Digital Lesson
Cereal Box Surface Area
How much math can your learners pour out of a cereal box? Your middle schoolers will explore their favorite cereal and calculate the surface area, volume, and weight ratios and log this information on the provided worksheet. They get to...
Radford University
Being Green – Minimizing the Surface Area of a Soda Can
Save the world by designing a new soda can! Learners first measure the dimensions of a typical soda can and calculate its surface area and volume. They then use spreadsheet software to minimize the surface area for the volume, thus...
Curated OER
Volume and Surface Area of Right Rectangular Prisms
Students identify the formulas for three-dimensional figures. They use manipulatives to model problems. Students create foldables and explain volume and surface area. Students complete worksheets and classify solids. Students sing a...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
Insides and Outsides
Give small groups handfuls of unit cubes and then dare them to build as many rectangular prisms as possible using only 12 cubes. This engaging activity serves as an introduction to the volume of solid figures. In addition to volume,...
EngageNY
The Volume Formula of a Sphere
What is the relationship between a hemisphere, a cone, and a cylinder? Using Cavalieri's Principle, the class determines that the sum of the volume of a hemisphere and a cone with the same radius and height equals the volume of a...
Radford University
Surface Area and Volume of 3-D Objects
Don't let the class tank the project. After reviewing formulas for surface area and volume, pupils design fish tanks that maximize volume. They research cost of materials online and must meet a budgetary constraint when creating their...
Denton Independent School District
Build a Geome-Tree
Geometers construct a mobile or ornament using nets of three-dimensional polyhedrons. Not only do they need to compute the volume and surface area of each figure, they also earn points for creativity, neatness, and more!
Curated OER
Family Activity: Gift Wrapping - Surface Area
In this surface area instructional activity, high schoolers solve 6 short answer problems. Students determine the amount of gift wrap paper needed to cover a rectangular box using surface area formulas.
Concord Consortium
Maximum Volumes
It's great to have a large swimming pool. An interesting performance task asks learners to optimize the volume of pools for a given surface area. They consider four different shapes for pools and find the maximum volume for each pool.
Curated OER
Area, Surface Area and Volume of 3-D Shapes
Math whizzes examine the relationship between area and volume and the relationship between a 3-D shape and its surface area. Following discussion and practice, pupils participate in a project in which they design packaging for a new...
Curated OER
Volume
In this volume learning exercise, students determine the number of cuboids needed to create a rectangular prism of a particular size. They determine the mass, volume and density of cereal boxes. Students determine the volume of...
Discovery Education
Discovering Math: Exploring Geometry
Apply geometric properties and formulae for surface area and volume by constructing a three-dimensional model of a city. Learners use similar and congruent figures and transformations to create a city of at least 10 buildings. They trade...
Curated OER
Area, Surface, and Volume
Ninth graders demonstrate application of area, surface, and volume. They apply formulas to a model of the classroom so they can determine the volume and surface area of the classroom.
Radford University
Build-a-Toy
Don't toy with using a fun lesson. Scholars design new toys and then create scale drawings. They determine the volume and surface area of the toys, and then research prices of raw materials to estimate the manufacturing costs.
Teach Engineering
Scale Model Project
Try your hand at scale models. Scholars create a scale model of an object using a scale factor of their choice. As part of the project, they give presentations on their processes and calculations. This is the last installment of the...
CCSS Math Activities
Smarter Balanced Sample Items: 6th Grade Math – Target H
Knowing the surface area certainly helps when deciding how much paint to buy before a project. Scholars solve for surface area, as well as volume and area, as part of the presentation from Grade 6 Claim 1 Item Slide Shows. Geometric...
Curated OER
Volume, Surface Area for Rectangular & Triangular Prisms
Seventh graders explore the concept of rectangular and triangular prisms. In this rectangular and triangular prism instructional activity, 7th graders identify various prisms as triangular or rectangular. Students discuss the various...
Concord Consortium
Swimming Pool I
Take a dive into a three-dimensional task. Given a specific surface area, individuals must maximize the volume of a cylindrical swimming pool. They combine their understanding of surface area and volume to create a cubic function that...
Indian Institute of Technology
Could King Kong Exist?
The title says it all: Could King Kong exist? Investigate how increasing the dimensions of an object affects its surface area and volume to mathematically conclude whether a creature with the weight and height of King Kong could actually...
University of Utah
Geometry Part 2: Measurement in 2- and 3-Dimensions, Plane Sections of Solids
What kind of tree does a math teacher climb? A geometry! Here is a lesson that includes all the geometry resources you could ever wish for in one comprehensive workbook. Class members demonstrate what they have learned by determining the...
Illustrative Mathematics
Use Cavalieri’s Principle to Compare Aquarium Volumes
Learners are designing a stunning new water feature for an aquarium, but they soon discover that more than just a pretty home for their fishy friends is required. From calculating the volume of a composite shape through the abstract...
Curated OER
Volume, Surface Area for Cylinders
Seventh graders explore the concept of volume and surface area of cylinders. In this volume and surface area of cylinders lesson, 7th graders break cylinders into their base shapes of a circle and a rectangle. Students discover that...
Concord Consortium
Swimming Pool II
Combine geometry and algebra concepts to solve a modeling problem. Young scholars consider the effect surface area has on volume. They write a cubic function to model the possible volume given a specific surface area and then determine...