Step 9 Objective

Calculate the surface areas and volumes of right prisms; calculate lengths, areas and volumes in right prisms, including cylinders.

Examples of what pupils should know and be able to do

Probing questions

What makes a three-dimensional shape a prism?

What can you say about the shapes that make up the surface area of a prism?

What are the important steps in calculating the volume of a prism?

How do you go about finding the surface area of a prism?

What if pupils find this a barrier?

Give examples in different orientations to help pupils focus on identifying the faces that represent the uniform cross-section. If necessary go back to using interlocking cubes, but establish the general formula.

Give pupils opportunities to explore generating prisms from fixed volumes.