CHAPTER 5: SURFACE AREA PART I

Lesson 3
Surface Area of Pyramids, Cylinders, and Cones

Some of the best-known images of pyramids are the Great Pyramids of Egypt.
Did you know that the first Egyptian
pyramid was actually a step pyramid?
The Step Pyramid of Djoser was built in
2630 BCE. It had six stepped layers and
stood 62 metres high.

The first attempt at building a true pyramid

was
made in 2600 BCE. (Remember time is
numbered backwards in BCE; 2600 BCE is
younger than 2630 BCE). This pyramid is
the Bent Pyramid because it was started at
one angle at the base but was changed near
the top because of a lack of stability. The
result was a curved pyramid shape. The
Bent Pyramid is 105 metres high.

The world's largest pyramid is the Great

Pyramid built in 2550 BCE. This pyramid
is 147 metres high!
By the end of todays lesson you will be
able to tell me the surface area of the
Great Pyramid.

From the last lesson, you might remember the definition of a pyramid.
pyramid: a 3-D object with a polygon base and triangular faces that
meet at a vertex (point)

The base of a pyramid can be any polygon shape square, triangle,

hexagon, etc. The sides or faces of the pyramid always are triangles
meeting at a point at the top. Here is a question to ponder: Is finding the
surface area of a pyramid any different from finding the surface area of a
prism? The answer to this is yes and no!
Finding the surface areas of a pyramid and a prism involves the same
process. Draw a net, find the area of each of the pieces, and add them
together. Surface area of a pyramid is different from surface area of a
prism in that a pyramid has only one base and the faces are triangles
rather than rectangles. Try an example.

Find a pyramid around the world which is not a Pyramid of Giza.

Why have we and why do we still build pyramids?

What would be the area of the square pyramid if we accounted for its
base as well?

You now have pyramids under control. Always remember to draw a net!
What about cylinders? How do we find the surface area of a cylinder?
First, what is a cylinder?
A cylinder is similar to a prism in that there are two parallel bases, but
this time, the bases are circles rather than polygons.
cylinder: a 3-D object with two parallel, congruent (equal) bases that are
circles

Now, unwrap the cylinder to see its net:

What information do we need to find the surface area of the cylinder?

The net has two equal circles and a rectangular section, so
SA = 2Acir + Arec
Area of a circle: A = r2
We need the radius or diameter.
Area of the rectangle:
We need the length of the cylinder, h.

What about the width, w?

o Imagine unrolling a cylinder (such as a toilet paper roll try
this if you want!). As you unroll the cylinder, you will find that

the width of the rectangle is equal to the circumference, or

perimeter, of the circle bases. Circumference is found by the
formula C = d = 2 r, so you need either radius or diameter
of the circular bases to find the width of the rectangle.
To conclude the rectangle section,
Arec = lw
Arec = wl
Arec = 2rh
Arec = dh

Note: We can write area of

a rectangle as either A = lw
or A = wl.

After the next example, we will determine

a formula for the surface area of a cylinder, but it is important to
understand the net first rather than just use a formula blindly. Sometimes
you will not need to find the surface area of the entire cylinder but only
the rectangle section or one of the bases and the rectangle section. Nets
are the key!

Although we do not need it, we can write a general formula for the surface area of a
cylinder. Remember that this includes all pieces: the two circle bases and the
rectangle section.
SAcyl = 2Acir + Arec
SAcyl = 2r2 + 2rh

Put this formula into

your formula booklet
under Chapter 5,
Surface Area of a
Cylinder.

If a pyramid is a pointy prism, then a cone is a pointy cylinder. The cone has one of
the most unique surface area formulas that you will consider.
cone: a 3-D object with a circular base and a sloped surface that tapers to a tip

As with the cylinder, draw a cone and its net to visualize its surface area:

How can we use this? We know the formula for the area of the small circle, but
what about the large partial circle? Do we have a formula for the shape made in the
net? In fact, the surface area of a cone has a special formula of
SAcone = r2 + rs
This is the same as saying (3.14 x radius x slant) + (3.14 x radius x radius)

where r2 is the area of the base and rs is the area of the partial circle wrapping
around the cone. In this formula, r is the radius of the base of the cone and s is
the slant height of the cone.
What is a cone?
A cone is a type of geometric shape. There are different kinds of cones. They all have a flat
surface on one side that tapers to a point on the other side.
We will be discussing a right circular cone on this page. This is a cone with a circle for a flat
surface that tapers to a point that is 90 degrees from the center of the circle.

Terms of a Cone
In order to calculate the surface area and volume of a cone we first need to understand a few
terms:

Radius - The radius is the distance from the center to the edge of the circle at the end.
Height - The height is the distance from the center of the circle to the tip of the cone.
Slant - The slant is the length from the edge of the circle to the tip of the cone.
Example:
What is the surface area of a cone with radius 4 cm and slant 8 cm?
Surface area = rs + r2
= (3.14x4x8) + (3.14x4x4)
= 100.48 + 50.24
= 150.72 cm2

Notice that, if you are not given the value for s, you can find it
using the right triangle with sides r, h, and s and the Pythagorean
Theorem. The formula of the Pythagorean Theorem is a2 + b2 = c2,
where c is the hypotenuse or longest side of a right triangle. To find
the slant height, s, the Pythagorean Theorem is

where r is the radius of the cone base, h is the height of the cone, and s is the
slant height of the cone.

bb

What if we needed to calculate the total area of the ground the mound
of oats covered and why would we want to know this piece of
information?
If we combined both pieces of information we could then calculate the
entire surface area of the mound. What is the surface area of both the
cone top and the circle base of the mound?

Ex. 1 from worksheet

What is a sphere?
A sphere is a three dimensional version of a circle, like a basketball or a
marble. The definition of a sphere is "every point that is the same distance
from a single point called the center."
Terms of a Sphere
In order to calculate the surface area and volume of a sphere we first need
to understand a few terms:
Radius - The radius of a sphere is the distance from the center to the
surface. It will be the same distance for a sphere no matter where it is
measured from the surface.

Diameter - The diameter is a straight line from one point on the surface of
the sphere to another that goes through the center of the sphere. The
diameter is always twice the distance of the radius.
Surface Area of a Sphere

To find the surface area of a sphere we use a special formula. The answer
to this formula will be in square units.
Surface Area = 4r 2
This is the same as saying: 4 x 3.14 x radius x radius

Example Problem

5
in.

What is the surface area of a sphere that has a radius of 5 inches?

4r2
= 4 x 3.14 x 5 inches x 5 inches
= 314 inches2

Ex. 1 from worksheet

Review what you have learned before you practise on your own:
Surface area of pyramids
An organized way to find the area of a pyramid is to use a
__________.

 The faces of a pyramid are _____________.

There is only ______ base in a pyramid.
Surface area of cylinders
The key to remember is that the width of the rectangular section of
a cylinder is equal to the _____________________________ of
the circular bases.
The general formula for surface area of a cylinder is SAcyl =
__________________
The general formula is made up of two ___________ bases plus a
_______________.
Surface area of cones
The general formula for the surface area of a cone is SAcone =
__________________
The general formula is made up of the base that has a formula of
___________ and a partial circle with a formula of
_____________.
Key terms
surface area
net
pyramid
cylinder

cone