It’s All in the Surface

(requires Flash)

Lyrics

Verse I
We’ll take it kind of slow and start with a sphere
You’ll hear it straight from me, so have no fear
r represents the radius, you know
Take 4 × πr², then you’re good to go
Got that, let’s move on to the cube
6 × a² is what you gotta do
a is the length of the side of each edge
If all y’all are flowin’ just nod your head

Chorus
It’s all in the surface, so take a ride
‘Round the top and the bottom and around the sides
We inform with a purpose, the formulas for surface
Yeah, that’s the area we’re gonna describe
(×2)

Verse II
Stay with me, it’s gonna get tricky
When you’re dealing with a box it’s a little more iffy
a, b, and c are the lengths of three sides
With different combinations, just multiply
2 × a × b, add it to the 2 × b × c,
and add it to the 2 × c × a
Now you’re dealing with the surface of a box (OK!)

Chorus

Verse III
The surface of a cylinder may take a little time
It’s the top and bottom plus around the side
If it helps think of a Coca-Cola® can
So you can make more sense of the formula at hand

2 × πr² added with the 2 × πrh
h is the height, all right? That’s it, you see
The cylinder’s surface is a breeze

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Description

This song teaches different formulas for the surface area of geometric figures. The song instructs students on how to find the surface area of sphere, cube, box, and cylinder while explaining the meaning of each variable in the different formulas. There are teaching materials at the bottom of the page, including worksheets, lesson plans, activities and games which are resources for teachers and homeschool parents to generate teaching ideas for the song topic. With the help of "Its All in the Surface" students will have a better understanding of how to calculate surface area of geometric figures.

This math song is suitable to help teach formulas for surface area to elementary school students (4th grade, 5th grade and 6th grade), middle school, high school, home school, and college classes.

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Related Reading and Activities

Reading

Math Is Fun
Cylinder
This site explains the characteristic of the cylinder, including the equations for findings its surface area and volume. Wonderful visuals.
Grades 4-8

Sphere
This site explains the characteristics of the sphere, and the equations for finding its surface area and volume. Like the previous sit, this has great visuals and wonderful information.
Grades 4-8

Lesson Plans & Activities

Illinois Institute of Technology
Volume and Surface Area
This activity teaches students the difference between volume and surface area.
Grades 4-6

Math Forum
Surface Area of a Sphere
This visualization exercise should help students better understand how to find the surface area of a sphere. This is an interesting site for visual understanding.
Grades 5-8

Thinkquest.org
Surface area of a sphere
This site explains things clearly with good visuals. Good for multiple grades.
Grades 4-8

Math. About.com
Surface area of a cube
Great illustrations of all aspects of a cube. Easy to see and use.
Grades 4-8

Math2.org
Illustrations of objects
The mother lode of illustrations of various object and their formulas. A must for any classroom
Grades 4-8

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State Standards

State standards listed here are representative of school standards across the United States.

California

5th Grade
Measurement and Geometry: 1.2 - Construct cube/rectangular box from two-dimensional patterns. Use patterns to compute surface area.

7th Grade
Measurement and Geometry: 2.1 - Use formulas routinely for finding perimeter/area of basic two-dimensional figures; surface area/ volume of basic three-dimensional figures, including rectangles/parallelograms/trapezoids/squares/triangles/circles/prisms/cylinders.

Florida

6th Grade
MA.6.G.4.3 - Determine missing dimension of plane figure or prism given its area or volume and some of the dimensions, or determine area or volume given dimensions.

7th Grade
MA.7.G.4.1 - Determine how changes in dimensions affect perimeter/area/ volume of common geometric figures. Apply relationships to solve problems.

Illinois

7th & 8th Grades
7.C.3b - Use concrete and graphic models and appropriate formulas to find perimeters, areas, surface areas and volumes of two- and three-dimensional regions.

Massachusetts

5th & 6th Grades
6.M.6 - Find volumes/surface areas of rectangular prisms.

7th & 8th Grades
8.M.3 - Demonstrate understanding of concepts and apply formulas/procedures for determining measures, including those of area/perimeter/circumference of parallelograms/trapezoids/ circles. Given formulas, determine surface area/volume of rectangular prisms/cylinders/spheres. Use technology as appropriate.

New York

7th Grade
7.A.6 - Evaluate formulas for given input values (surface area, rate, and density problems).
7.G.4 - Determine surface area of prisms/cylinders, using calculator and other methods.

Texas

7th Grade
7.8.B - Make a net (two-dimensional model) of surface area of three-dimensional figure.

8th Grade
8.8.A - Find lateral/total surface area of prisms/pyramids/cylinders using concrete models/ nets (two-dimensional models)

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Preview Worksheets