Virginia Department of Education
The Ratio of Surface Area to Volume
Demonstrate the ratio of surface area to volume in your high school class by using phenolphthalein, gelatin, and an onion. Intrigue the class by leading a discussion on osmosis and diffusion, then making "scientific jello." Participants...
Virginia Department of Education
Surface Area and Volume of a Cylinder
Surface area or volume? Pupils first review the difference between surface area and volume. They then use a two-dimensional net that helps them develop formulas for the surface area and volume of cylinders.
Curated OER
Surface Area and Volume
Upper graders identify the surface area and attributes of figures that are measurable. They estimate, measure, and record perimeter, area, temperature change, and elapsed time, using a variety of strategies. They also determine the...
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...
Virginia Department of Education
Surface Area and Volume
Partners use materials to wrap three-dimensional objects to determine the formula for surface area. The groups use an orange to calculate the amount of peel it takes to completely cover the fruit. Using manipulatives, individuals then...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Volume and Surface Area
Build boxes using unit cubes to compare surface area and volume. The group performs multiple experiments to determine properties of volume, such as if it makes a difference which order the dimensions are multiplied in. Extensive...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Learning About Surface Area and Volume
Plan a dinner party. Using a book by Marilyn Burns as a context, pupils learn about the relationships between area and perimeter and surface area and volume. The hands-on activities have learners rearrange tables and cut up meatballs to...
EngageNY
Volume and Surface Area
The 26th part of a 28-part series requires pupils to determine whether the answer to a problem requires surface area or volume. The class works problems about fish tanks that prompt individuals to decide, based on the question, which...
Alabama Learning Exchange
How Big Can a Bee Be?
Mathematicians analyze the relationships between surface area and volume. They conduct Internet research, conduct various experiments, record the data in a spreadsheet, and graph the results and compare the rate of increase of surface...
Curated OER
Volume of Solids: Algebra/Geometry Institute
Use this volume of solids lesson to have learners find the surface area and volume of cylinders, pyramids, and prisms. They place cubes inside three-dimensional figures to determine the volume. Worksheets and answers are provided.
Curated OER
Surface Area and Volume
Students are introduced to the notion of surface area and volume, learn the terminology used with surface area and volume and have experimented with the surface area and volume of different prisms.
Virginia Department of Education
Surface Area of a Rectangular Prism
Wrap up a activity on surface area with a resource that asks scholars to use the idea of wrapping paper to investigate surface area. They draw representations of rectangular prisms on graph paper to find the areas of the respective...
EngageNY
Volume and Surface Area II
Determine the cost of projects based on volume or surface area. Pupils work problems to determine the cost of building a brick planter and a stainless steel feeder in the 27th installment of a 28-part series. Participants must consider...
Nuffield Foundation
Effect of Size on Uptake by Diffusion
Cell size is limited by the surface area to volume ratio, but why is this true? Scholars measure the surface area and volume of cubes before placing them into liquid. After a set amount of time, they measure the uptake by diffusion for...
Curated OER
Surface Area, Who Needs it?
In this geometry lesson on cylinders, geometers explore how to find the smallest surface area for a given volume. They use their knowledge to relate it to the real world by making a model of a livestock tank.
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...
Curated OER
Surface Area of Prisms
Students compute surface area and volume of prisms. In this surface area lesson, students find the surface area and volume of rectangular and triangular prisms. Independently, students use their computers to determine the volume,...
Cord Online
Pyramids and Cones
Young mathematicians find the surface area and volume of a square pyramid and a cone. In what looks like a typical activity out of a textbook, you'll find an activity where learners find an unknown measurement of a pyramid or...
Curated OER
Area, Surface, and Volume
Ninth graders demonstrate application of area, surface, and volume in the world around us by applying formulas to a model of the classroom so they can determine the volume and surface area of the room.
Curated OER
Surface to Volume Ratios
Students measure the rate of diffusion and to calculate the surface area to volume ratios of varying cell sizes. The lesson is very clearly organized with a useful student worksheet provided. They perform a lab experiment which is...
Virginia Department of Education
Out of the Box
There's no need to think outside the box for this one! Scholars measure the length, width, and height of various boxes. Results help develop the formulas for the surface area and volume of rectangular prisms.
Kentucky Educational Television
The Road to Proportional Reasoning
Just how big would it really be? Young mathematicians determine if different toys are proportional and if their scale is accurate. They solve problems relating scale along with volume and surface area using manipulatives. The...
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...
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,...