In

t
r
o
d
u
c
t
i
o
n
We
live
in a
three
dime
nsion
al
worl
d.
Ever
y
objec
t you
can
see
or
touc
h
has
three
dime
nsion
s
that
can
be
meas

ured
:
lengt
h,
widt
h,
and
heig
ht.
The
room
you
are
sittin
g in
can
be
descr
ibed
by
thes
e
three
dime
nsion
s.
The
moni
tor
you'r
e
looki
ng at
has
thes
e
three
dime
nsion
s.
Even
you
can
be
descr
ibed
by
thes
e
three
dime
nsion
s. In
fact,
the
cloth
es
you
are
weari
ng
were
mad

e
speci
ficall
y for
a
pers
on
with
your
dime
nsion
s.
In
the
worl
d
arou
nd
us,
there
are
man
y
three
dime
nsion
al
geo
metri
c
shap
es.
In
thes
e
lesso
ns,
you'll
learn
abou
t
some
of
them
.
You'll
learn
some
of
the
termi
nolo
gy
used
to
descr
ibe
them
,
how
to

calcu
late
their
surfa
ce
area
and
volu
me,
as
well
as a
lot
abou
t
their
math
emat
ical
prop
ertie
s.

Let's get started

with 3D shapes.

Platonic Solids
In this lesson on three-dimensional solids, you've seen a
lot of polyhedra. But there are five special polyhedra
known collectively as the Platonic solids that are
different from all the others.
What makes the Platonic solids special? Well, two
things, actually.
1. They are the only polyhedra whose faces are all
exactly the same. Every face is identical to every other
face. For instance, a cube is a Platonic solid because all
six of its faces are congruent squares.
2. The same number of faces meet at each vertex.
Every vertex has the same number of adjacent faces as
every other vertex. For example, three equilateral
triangles meet at each vertex of a tetrahedron.
No other polyhedra satisfy both of these conditions.
Consider a pentagonal prism. It satisfies the second
condition because three faces meet at each vertex, but
it violates the first condition because the faces are not
identical some are pentagons and some are
rectangles.

Explore Platonic Solids and

Input Values
Print out the foldable shapes to help you fill
in the table below by entering the number of
faces (F), vertices (V), and edges (E) for
each polyhedron. Then, take your
examination a step farther by selecting the
shape of each polyhedron's faces. As a final
step, calculate the number of faces that meet
at each vortex of the given polyhedron. Start
at blinking cursor in the yellow box and
hit the enter key after each answer is
inputted. Feedback will be given
immediately. As in the other activities, if your calculation is wrong, your answer will appear in red
and you will be given two hints and two more chances before the correct answer is displayed.
Depending on the speed of your computer and internet connection,
there may be a wait time of a few seconds before error messages appear.

3D Shapes
There are many types of three-dimensional shapes.
You've surely seen spheres and cubes before. In this
lesson, you'll learn about polyhedra threedimensional shapes whose faces are polygons and
you'll also learn about two special types of polyhedra:
prisms and pyramids.

Polyhedra
A die is in the shape of a cube. A portable DVD player
is in the shape of a rectangular prism. A soccer ball is
in the shape of a truncated icosahedron. These shapes
are all examples of polyhedra.
A three-dimensional shape whose faces are polygons is
known as a polyhedron. This term comes from the
Greek words poly, which means "many," and hedron,
which means "face." So, quite literally, a polyhedron is
a three-dimensional object with many faces.
The faces of a cube are squares. The faces of a
rectangular prism are rectangles. And the faces of a
truncated icosahedron are pentagons and hexagons
there are some of each.
The other parts of a polyhedron are its edges, the line
segments along which two faces intersect, and its
vertices, the points at which three or more faces meet.

Next: Explore Prisms

3D Shapes
Prisms
A prism is a polyhedron for which the top and bottom
faces (known as the bases) are congruent polygons, and
all other faces (known as the lateral faces) are
rectangles. (Technically, when the sides are rectangles,
the shape is known as a right prism, indicating that the
lateral faces meet the sides of the base at right angles.
In this lesson, when we use the term prism, we mean a
right prism. But there are other types of prisms, too.)
A prism is described by the shape of its base. For
instance, a rectangular prism has bases that are
rectangles, and a pentagonal prism has bases that are
pentagons.

Explore & Play with Prisms

Use the animation below to explore the properties of

four prisms. Follow the instructions below to change the
direction and speed of the prism's rotation and to
highlight the numbers of faces (F), vertices (V), and
edges (E) for each prism.

3D Shapes
Pyramids
A pyramid is a polyhedron for which the base is a
polygon and all lateral faces are triangles. In this lesson,
we'll only concern ourselves with pyramids whose lateral
faces are congruent that is, they're the same size and
shape.
Technically, when the lateral faces are congruent
triangles, the shape is known as a right pyramid,
indicating that the apex the vertex at which the lateral
faces meet is directly above the center of the base. In
this lesson, when we use the term pyramid, we mean a
right pyramid. But there are other types of pyramids,
too.
A pyramid is typically described by the shape of its base.
For instance, a triangular pyramid has a base that is a
triangle, and a hexagonal pyramid has a base that is a
hexagon.

Explore & Play with Pyramids

Use the animation below to explore the properties of
four pyramids. Follow the instructions below to change
the direction and speed of the prism's rotation and to
highlight the numbers of faces (F), vertices (V), and
edges (E) for each prism.

Introduction
Have you ever wrapped a birthday gift? If so, then
you've covered the surface area of a polyhedron with
wrapping paper.
Have you ever poured yourself a glass of milk? If so,
then you've filled the volume of a glass with liquid.
Surface area is exactly what it sounds like the area
of all of the outside surfaces of a three-dimensional
object. And volume is all of the space inside a threedimensional object. In this lesson, you will learn
more about both of these concepts as well as how to
compute the surface area and volume of various
polyhedra.
Next: Surface Area: Rectangles

Surface Area
Rectangles
The surface area of a polyhedron is equal to the sum of
the area of all of its faces. Said another way, the surface
area is the total area covered by the net of a polyhedron.
Let's take a look at a cube.
As you already know, a cube has six square faces. If each
of those faces is 3 inches by 3 inches, then the area of
each face is 3 3 = 9 square inches. And since there are
six of them, the total surface area is 9 + 9 + 9 + 9 + 9 +
9 = 54 square inches.
To find the surface area of any shape, you can follow the
process described below:
1.
2.
3.

Draw a net of the polyhedron.

Calculate the area of each face.
Add up the area of all the faces.

But for many polyhedra, there are formulas that can be

used to find the total surface area. For instance, the
formula for the surface area of a cube is:
SAcube = 6s2
where s is the side length of the square faces.

Explore & Play with Surface Area

In the animation below, hit the play button to watch the

net fold up into a three-dimensional prism. Hit the pause
button at any time to freeze the animation. Then, in the
diagram to the right, calculate and enter the value for
each face of the prism. Upon hitting the enter key, if your
calculation is wrong, your answer will appear in red and
you will be given two hints and two more chances before
the correct answer is displayed.

Surface Area
Cylinders
Have you ever wanted to gift wrap a poster tube? Did you ever
wonder how much wrapping paper you would need? Let's explore
the formula.
Surface Area of a Cylinder = 2 r2 + 2 r h
h = height of the cylinder, r = radius of the top, approximate value
of pi: 3.14.
Similar to the rectangle we just finished,
Surface Area = Areas of top and bottom + Area of the side(s)
Unlike the rectangle, which has 4 sides, the cylinder only has 1
side.
Let's picture our cylinder-shaped gift. The surface area is the areas
of all the parts needed to cover the can, which are the top and
bottom circles and the rectangular paper label that folds around the
middle.
Circle area formula is r2. Since there is both a top and a bottom,
that gets multiplied by two.
Let's use another example, a soup can. The side is like the paper
label of a soup can. When you peel it off and lay it flat, it will be a
rectangle. The area of a rectangle is the product of the two sides.
One side is the height of the can, the other side is the perimeter of
the circle, also known as the circumference of a circle. Since the
label wraps once around the can, the area of the rectangle is the
circumference of the circle x height or (2 r) * h.
Add those two parts together and you have the formula for the
surface area of a cylinder.
Surface Area = 2(

r2) + (2

r) * h

Although is approximately 3.14, in this activity we will use

= 3.14 for calculations.

Volume
Rectangles

The volume of a threedimensional figure is the

amount of space within it.
That is, the volume of a
polyhedron is equal to the
number of unit cubes that
can fit inside it. Sometimes
determining the number of
cubes that will fit is easy,
and sometimes it's rather
difficult. Let's look at one of
the easy situations first.

Volume of a
Rectangles
Enter your calculation in the
box. Upon hitting the enter
key, if your calculation is
wrong, your answer will
appear in red and you will
be given two hints.

Volume
Cylinders

If you were offered either of

these two glasses of the same
liquid, which would get you the
most?
Most people are surprised that
the volume of the shorter glass is
about 11 percent more than the
volume of the taller glass. That's
because people perceive how
much the glass holds to be based
on the height and radius.
However, the volume actually
depends on the product of the
height and the radius squared.
It's that extra factor of the radius
that makes the volume of the
shorter glass exceed the volume
of the taller glass

Volume of a Cylinder
After hitting the next button,
enter your calculation in the box.
Upon hitting the enter key, if your
calculation is wrong, your answer
will appear in red and you will be
given two hints.

Euler's Theorem
You've already learned about
many polyhedra properties. All
of the faces must be polygons.
Two faces meet along an edge.
Three or more faces meet at a
vertex.
In this lesson, you'll learn about
a property of polyhedra known
as Euler's Theorem, because it
was discovered by the
mathematician Leonhard Euler
(pronounced "Oil-er"). You
already know that a polyhedron
has faces (F), vertices (V), and
edges (E). But Euler's Theorem
says that there is a relationship
among F, V, and E that is true
for every polyhedron. That's
right every polyhedron, from
a triangular prism to a
hexagonal pyramid to a
truncated icosahedron.
Euler's Theorem actually played
a role in a notable discovery. In
some chemistry experiments, a
group of researchers believed
that they had found a new
molecule with the exact weight
of 60 carbon atoms. Although
they couldn't see this molecule,
they speculated that its shape

was a truncated icosahedron

a "soccer ball" in which 60
carbon atoms (vertices) were
joined together by 90 bonds
(edges). From Euler's Theorem,
they then knew that the atoms
must be arranged to form a
spherical soccer ball with 32
faces, some of them hexagons
and some pentagons.
Discover this formula for yourself...
In the activity below, choose a
prism from the top row and
then hit the play button to
watch its net fold up to form the
corresponding threedimensional shape. Hit the
pause button at any time to
freeze the animation.
Use the animation to help you
count the number of faces (F),
vertices (V), and edges (E) for each prism. Then, enter these
values into the appropriate boxes in the table to the right. Fill in
each square and press the enter/return key. Feedback will be
given immediately. As in the other activities, if your
calculation is wrong, your answer will appear in red and you will
be given two hints and two more chances before the correct
answer is displayed. Look for a pattern in the row as you input
numbers; after correctly completing three rows, you will be
given an opportunity to express this pattern in an equation.
Or, you may continue working on the table until you are able to
identify the pattern.