In this activity, students are given two contextual situations and determine if the situation requires surface area or volume to be calculated. This prepares students to solve problems involving surface area and volume in situations that will arise in upcoming activities.
Arrange students in groups of 2. Give students 1 minute of quiet work time, followed by time to discuss their reasoning with a partner. Follow with a whole-class discussion.
For each situation, decide if it requires Noah to calculate surface area or volume. Explain your reasoning.
Noah is planning to paint the bird house he built. He is unsure if he has enough paint.
Noah is planning to use a box with a trapezoid base to hold modeling clay. He is unsure if the clay will all fit in the box.
Select students to share their responses. Ask students to describe why the bird house situation calls for surface area and why the clay context calls for volume. To highlight the differences between the two uses of the box, ask:
The goal is to ensure that students understand the differences between situations that require them to calculate surface area and those that require them to calculate volume.
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In this activity, students are given two contextual situations and determine if the situation requires surface area or volume to be calculated. This prepares students to solve problems involving surface area and volume in situations that will arise in upcoming activities.
Arrange students in groups of 2. Give students 1 minute of quiet work time, followed by time to discuss their reasoning with a partner. Follow with a whole-class discussion.
For each situation, decide if it requires Noah to calculate surface area or volume. Explain your reasoning.
Noah is planning to paint the bird house he built. He is unsure if he has enough paint.
Noah is planning to use a box with a trapezoid base to hold modeling clay. He is unsure if the clay will all fit in the box.
Select students to share their responses. Ask students to describe why the bird house situation calls for surface area and why the clay context calls for volume. To highlight the differences between the two uses of the box, ask:
The goal is to ensure that students understand the differences between situations that require them to calculate surface area and those that require them to calculate volume.