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Benchmark Instructional Guide
Connecting Benchmarks/Horizontal Alignment
Terms from the K-12 Glossary
- Circle
- Cone
- Cylinder
- Prism
- Pyramid
- Rectangle
- Sphere
- Square
- Triangle
Vertical Alignment
Previous Benchmarks
Next Benchmarks
Purpose and Instructional Strategies
In middle grades, students determined surface area using nets and formulas for right rectangular prisms, right rectangular pyramids and right circular cylinders. In Geometry, students explore for the first time the surface area of cones and spheres. Instruction includes reviewing units and conversions within and across different measurement systems (as this was done in middle grades).- Instruction includes discussing the convenience of answering with exact values (e.g., the simplest radical form or in terms of pi) or with approximations (e.g., rounding to the 22 nearest tenth or hundredth or using 3.14, or other approximations for pi). It is also important to explore the consequences of rounding partial answers on the accuracy or precision of the final answer, especially when working in real-world contexts.
- Instruction includes reviewing the definition of cylinders, pyramids, prisms, cones and spheres (as this was done in grade 5), and discussing the definitions of right and oblique polyhedrons, cubes, tetrahedrons, regular prisms and regular pyramids.
- Instruction includes the connection to finding areas of two-dimensional figures to
determine the surface area of cylinders, pyramids, prisms and cones.
- For example, the surface area of a cylinder is the result of combining the area of the bases (circles with radius ) with the lateral area (a rectangle with base = 2π and height equal to the height of the cylinder). The area of the circles is π2 and the area of the rectangle is which is equivalent to which is equivalent to 2 π. Therefore, given a cylinder with radius and height , its surface area is 2π2 + 2π
- For example, the surface area of a cone is the result of combining the area of the
base (a circle with radius and circumference ) and the area of the curved
surface (a circular sector with radius , which is the slant height of the cone
and arc length ). The slant height is
, where is the height of the
cone. The area of the circle is π2 and the area of the circular sector is
(arc length)(radius), which is equivalent to , which is equivalent to (2π), which is equivalent to πrL. Therefore, given a cone with radius and height , its surface area if π2 + π = π2 + π is π( + ).
- Instruction includes exploring the surface area of cylinders, pyramids and prisms as the result of combining areas of triangles, rectangles and circles (and when needed, other polygons). Students should understand the similarities and differences between lateral area and surface area. (MTR.2.1)
- Since deriving the surface area of a sphere requires Calculus, students will not be able to explore its formula and can be calculated using the formula = 4π2.
- Instruction includes exploring a variety of real-world situations where finding the surface area is relevant for different purposes. Problem types include components like percentages, cost and budget, constraints, comparisons, or others.
- Problem types include finding missing dimensions given the surface area of a three-dimensional figure, finding the surface area of composite figures or determining which face to include in calculations within real-world context (i.e., the surface area required to paint a house, the surface area that will be covered by a label in a soup can).
Common Misconceptions or Errors
- Students may have trouble working with formulas by making incorrect substitutions or incorrect use of the order of operations.
Instructional Tasks
Instructional Task 1 (MTR.7.1)- There are three Pyramids of Giza. The largest, the Great Pyramid, has an approximately square base with side lengths averaging 230 meters and a lateral surface area of 85,836 square meters. What is the height of the Great Pyramid?
Instructional Task 2 (MTR.4.1)
- The surface area of a sphere with radius 10 is 400π square units.
- Part A. Discuss the value of this kind of answer for its accuracy and precision.
- Part B. Discuss the effect of replacing π in the formulas with 3.14, 3.1416, and other approximations. What happens with the answer, the surface area of the figure, in each case?
Instructional Items
Instructional Item 1- Kristin and Rachel are hosting an art show where they will showcase local artists’ sculptures. They are painting pedestals upon which the sculptures will be placed. Pictures of the pedestals they will be using are below. One gallon of paint can cover 400 square feet.
- Part A. How many gallons of paint will they need to purchase to cover at least 4 of each type of pedestal? Assume that the base of each will not be painted.
- Part B. If there is any paint left over, determine how many of which shape pedestals could be painted.
Related Courses
Related Access Points
Related Resources
Formative Assessments
Lesson Plans
Perspectives Video: Expert
Problem-Solving Tasks
Unit/Lesson Sequence
STEM Lessons - Model Eliciting Activity
Students use measures and properties of rectangular prisms and cylinders to model and rank 3D printable designs of interchangeable wristwatch bands that satisfy physical constraints.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.
The Turning Tires MEA provides students with an engineering problem in which they must work as a team to design a procedure to select the best tire material for certain situations. The main focus of the MEA is applying surface area concepts and algebra through modeling.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.
In this activity, students will utilize measurement data provided in a chart to calculate areas, volumes, and densities of cookies. They will then analyze their data and determine how these values can be used to market a fictitious brand of chocolate chip cookie. Finally, they will integrate cost and taste into their analyses and generate a marketing campaign for a cookie brand of their choosing based upon a set sample data which has been provided to them.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.
MFAS Formative Assessments
Students are asked to determine the surface area of a right triangular prism and explain the procedure.
Student Resources
Problem-Solving Tasks
The purpose of this task is to engage students in geometric modeling, and in particular to deduce algebraic relationships between variables stemming from geometric constraints.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
In this task, students will provide a sketch of a paper ice cream cone wrapper, use the sketch to develop a formula for the surface area of the wrapper, and estimate the maximum number of wrappers that could be cut from a rectangular piece of paper.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
This problem solving task challenges students to find the surface area of a soda can, calculate how many cubic centimeters of aluminum it contains, and estimate how thick it is.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
Students should think of different ways the cylindrical containers can be set up in a rectangular box. Through the process, students should realize that although some setups may seem different, they result in a box with the same volume. In addition, students should come to the realization (through discussion and/or questioning) that the thickness of a cardboard box is very thin and will have a negligible effect on the calculations.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
Parent Resources
Problem-Solving Tasks
The purpose of this task is to engage students in geometric modeling, and in particular to deduce algebraic relationships between variables stemming from geometric constraints.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
In this task, students will provide a sketch of a paper ice cream cone wrapper, use the sketch to develop a formula for the surface area of the wrapper, and estimate the maximum number of wrappers that could be cut from a rectangular piece of paper.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
This problem solving task challenges students to find the surface area of a soda can, calculate how many cubic centimeters of aluminum it contains, and estimate how thick it is.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
Students should think of different ways the cylindrical containers can be set up in a rectangular box. Through the process, students should realize that although some setups may seem different, they result in a box with the same volume. In addition, students should come to the realization (through discussion and/or questioning) that the thickness of a cardboard box is very thin and will have a negligible effect on the calculations.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
