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This topic calculates the volume and surface area of prisms, cylinders, pyramids, cones and spheres using the standard formulae, and solves problems involving them. It's examined right across GCSE and iGCSE Maths. Learn it free on eClassroom through guided worked examples and instantly-marked exam-style questions.
How you do it
Volume of a prism is the cross-sectional area times the length. Surface area means adding every face, so count them systematically and do not miss the hidden ones. Learn the cone, sphere and pyramid formulas, and check whether the question wants curved surface area or total.
Before you start
The groundwork here is area and perimeter. From here the path runs to scale factors and density. Foundation and Higher tier students all cover it.
What you learn
Volume measures the space inside a 3D solid (in cm³); surface area measures the total area of all its faces (in cm²). A prism has the same cross-section all the way along its length. A cylinder is a prism with a circular cross-section. The course works through cuboids, prisms and cylinders. Every section has instant-feedback practice questions matched to Edexcel iGCSE 4MA1 and the other major GCSE boards, and the course finishes with full exam-style questions you mark yourself.
Related Topics
In our GCSE maths courses, Volume & Surface Area belongs to Geometry and is met in Foundation tier. There are 3 teaching sections and 2 fully worked examples, plus 3 sets of check questions. Nearby topics in the same strand are Angles, Area & Perimeter, Circle Theorems and Circles. Endless extra practice on this strand is available on the Geometry revision engine, which generates a fresh question each time.
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