Surface Area of a Cube

In this lesson we will learn

• how to calculate the surface area of a cube.
• how to find the length of a cube given the surface area.
• about nets of a cube.

Surface Area of a Cube

A cube is a three-dimensional figure with six equal square faces. The surface area of a cube is the sum of the area of the six squares that cover it.

The figure above shows a cube. The dotted lines indicate edges hidden from your view.

If s is the length of one of its sides, then the area of one face of the cube is s^2.

Since a cube has six faces the surface area of a cube is six times the area of one face.

Surface area of a cube = 6s²

Worksheet to calculate volume and surface area of cubes.

Example

Find the surface area of a cube with a side of length 3 cm

Solution:

Given that s = 3

Surface area of a cube = 6s² = 6(3)² = 54 cm²

The following videos show how to find the surface area of a cube.

Find the length of a cube given the surface area

This video shows how to find the length of a cube given the surface area.

Nets of a Cube

Another way to look at the surface area of a cube is to consider a net of the cube. The net is a 2-dimensional figure that can be folded to form a 3-dimensional object.

Imagine making cuts along some edges of a cube and opening it up to form a plane figure. The plane figure is called the net of the cube.

The following net can be folded along the dotted lines to form a cube.

We can then calculate the area of each square in the net and then multiply the area by 6 to get the surface area of the cube.

There are altogether 11 possible nets for a cube as shown in the following figures.

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