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Lesson 2 - Exploring Surface Area of Polyhedrons

To encourage students to have fun on the Web while learning about Exploring Surface Area of Polyhedrons, here are some games and interactive activities they can do on their own or in pairs.

 

Goal

Determine the surface area of triangular and rectangular prisms.

 

Builds Upon

Student Book pages 324-325

Instructions for Use

Surface Area of a Rectangular Prism helps students find the surface area of a rectangular prism.

To use Surface Area of a Rectangular Prism , click the 'Start' button. Input the numbers in the proper text box to find the surface area. Click the 'Check Answer' button to see if the answer is correct.

 

Surface Area and Volume of a Rectangular Prism lets students observe the changes in surface area and volume as students change the dimensions of the prism.

To use Surface Area and Volume of a Rectangular Prism, drag the pink dots to change the dimensions of the rectangular prism. Notice the changes in area and volume as you change the dimensions.

 

Surface Area and Volume lets students manipulate three-dimensional shapes to estimate surface area and volume.

To use Surface Area and Volume, click on the prism and drag it to see the front, side and top views. Using the three buttons - front, side and top views - rotate the prism to observe all three axis's - y axis, x axis, and z axis.

To change the dimensions of the rectangular prism, adjust the height, width, and depth sliders. The volume and surface area of the shape are displayed in the lower right portion of the applet. By changing the dimensions of the shape, notice the surface area and volume change.