Has your child ever dreamed of exploring space? By observing, measuring, and recording the amount of space everyday objects take up, he can do just that! True, it may not be what he had in mind, but this activity will give him hands-on practice with important geometry concepts he's learning about in school, and he won't have to pick up a textbook.
What You Need:
- Ruler or tape measure
- Pencil
- Paper
- Calculator (optional)
Simply stated, area and volume is all about space. Area is the amount of space taken up by 2-dimensional closed figures, while volume is the amount of space occupied by 3-dimensional objects. Below are the area and volume formulas for the basic shapes in geometry. They may look intimidating to your child, but with a little practice, these formulas will be a piece of cake.
Area Formulas
|
Square |
side2 |
|
Rectangle |
length x width |
|
Parallelogram |
base x height |
|
Triangle |
base x height / 2 |
|
Trapezoid |
height x (base1 + base2) / 2 |
|
Circle |
pi*x radius2 ** |
|
Cube |
side3 |
|
Rectangular Prism |
side1 x side2 x side3 |
|
Sphere |
(4/3) x pi x radius3 |
|
Cylinder |
pi x radius2 x height |
|
Cone |
(1/3) x pi x radius2 x height * |
|
Pyramid |
(1/3) x (base area) x height |
*Pi=3.14
**radius=the distance from the center of the circle to the outside edge
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