Surface Area and Volume of Solids

Calculate surface area and volume of prisms, cylinders, pyramids, cones, and spheres.

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Surface Area and Volume of Solids

Prisms

V=Bh(Base area × height)V = Bh \quad \text{(Base area × height)} SA=2B+Ph(2 bases + lateral area)SA = 2B + Ph \quad \text{(2 bases + lateral area)}

Rectangular prism: V=lwhV = lwh, SA=2(lw+lh+wh)SA = 2(lw + lh + wh)

Cylinders

V=πr2hV = \pi r^2 h SA=2πr2+2πrhSA = 2\pi r^2 + 2\pi rh

Pyramids

V=13BhV = \frac{1}{3}Bh SA=B+12Pl(Base + lateral area, l=slant height)SA = B + \frac{1}{2}Pl \quad \text{(Base + lateral area, } l = \text{slant height)}

Cones

V=13πr2hV = \frac{1}{3}\pi r^2 h SA=πr2+πrlSA = \pi r^2 + \pi r l

Slant height: l=r2+h2l = \sqrt{r^2 + h^2}

Spheres

V=43πr3SA=4πr2V = \frac{4}{3}\pi r^3 \quad SA = 4\pi r^2

Composite Solids

Break into simpler shapes, add (or subtract) volumes.

Example: A cylinder with a hemisphere on top: V=πr2h+23πr3V = \pi r^2 h + \frac{2}{3}\pi r^3

Cavalieri's Principle

If two solids have the same height and every cross-section at the same level has the same area, then they have the same volume.

Cross-Sections

| Solid | Horizontal Cut | Vertical Cut | |-------|---------------|--------------| | Cylinder | Circle | Rectangle | | Cone | Circle | Triangle | | Sphere | Circle | Circle | | Rectangular prism | Rectangle | Rectangle |

Effect of Scaling

If a solid is scaled by factor kk:

  • Surface area scales by k2k^2
  • Volume scales by k3k^3

Example: Double all dimensions (k=2k = 2):

  • SA is 44 times larger
  • Volume is 88 times larger

Common mistake: Don't confuse height hh (perpendicular to base) with slant height ll (along the lateral face)!

📚 Practice Problems

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