7.G.6 Pyramid Surface Area

Home Forums Questions about the standards 7–12 Geometry 7.G.6 Pyramid Surface Area

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  • #1727
    Jim
    Participant

    6.G.4  Represent three-dimensional figures using nets made up of rectangles and triangles, and use the nets to find the surface area of these figures. Apply these techniques in the context of solving real-world and mathematical problem.

    “Students in Grade 6 [….] find areas of polygons and surface areas of prisms and pyramids by decomposing them into pieces whose area they can determine.”

    7.G.6.  Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, volume and surface area of two- and three-dimensional objects composed of triangles, quadrilaterals, polygons, cubes, and right prisms.

    It seems surface area of pyramids is covered in 6th.  Is it addressed again in 7th?  

    If 7.G.6 is read more narrowly, it sounds like:

    7.G.6.  Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, volume and surface area of two-dimensional objects composed of triangles, quadrilaterals, and  polygons and three dimensional-objects composed of cubes, and right prisms.

    which excludes pyramids.  If it is read more broadly it sounds like:

    7.G.6.  Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, volume and surface area of two- dimensional objects composed of triangles, quadrilaterals, and  polygons and three dimensional-objects composed of  triangles, quadrilaterals, and  polygons, cubes, and right prisms.

    The broad reading allows for pyramids, but if it is correct, it makes me wonder why cubes and right prisms appear in the standard, since if the standard is suggesting composing new three-dimensional shapes from two-dimensional ones this could be done for cubes and prisms also (and for dodecahedera, etc.).  I guess it seems a bit strange that

    #1741
    Bill McCallum
    Keymaster

    Whichever reading you take, surface area of pyramids is fair game in Grade 7 since it was introduced in Grade 6. I see your point that it falls through the cracks of this particular standard if you take the first reading. With the second reading there is still some reason to keep cubes and right prisms in the wording, however, in that it indicates what sorts of volume problems are appropriate. In Grade 7 students might be computing surface areas of pyramids, but they are not yet computing the volumes of pyramids as a matter of course.

    #1807
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    CCSS.Math.Content.7.G.B.6 Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, volume and surface area of two- and three-dimensional objects composed of triangles, quadrilaterals, polygons, cubes, and right prisms.

    Why wouldn’t this include the volume of a pyramid as it is a 3-D shape composed of a polygon as the base and triangles as the laterral faces?

    I notice volume of cones are in 8th, but for some reason volume of pyramids does not seem to be specifically mentioned in 7th or 8th.

    #1812
    Bill McCallum
    Keymaster

    Well, you can form the surface of the pyramid this way, but I wasn’t thinking of that as a 3-D object. The solid pyramid cannot be formed by cubes and right prisms. That’s why I thought surface area of a pyramid was fair game, but not volume. On the other hand, I think cones include pyramids in Grade 8 (a pyramid is a cone on a polygonal base).

    #3111
    cshore
    Member

    Your response makes sense, but we don’t find a standard for surface area in 8th grade. In fact, we don’t see surface area of cones and spheres anywhere throughout middle and high school. Are we interpreting correctly?

    #3117
    Bill McCallum
    Keymaster

    I’m a little confused by this question, because the discussion was about pyramids, not cones or spheres. The middle school surface area standards are in Grades 6 and 7, as listed at the top of this thread. You are correct that surface area of cones and spheres is not in the standards.

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