Grade 8 · Math

8th grade Surface area of prisms and cylinders: problems worksheet

6 printable versionsOn Level10 questions · answer keyFree · no account

Level: Building Confidence · On Level · Challenge Me

When it’s done, scan the sheet with your phone and PencilGo marks it and picks the next one. Create a free account

Version

Surface area of prisms and cylinders: problems

Grade 8 Math Worksheet

NameDate

Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.

Kira covers a gift box in paper. It is 6.5 by 4 by 2 cm. What is its total surface area, in square cm?
Luz covers a moving box in paper. It is 14 by 10 by 6 cm. What is its total surface area, in square cm?
Milo covers a tall snack box in paper. It is 5 by 5 by 12 inches. What is its total surface area, in square inches?
Pia's toy-car ramp is a triangular prism 3 inches wide. Each end is a right triangle with sides 7, 24 and 25 inches. What is its total surface area, in square inches?
Ren's camping tent is a triangular prism 4 meters long. Each end is a right triangle with sides 0.8, 1.5 and 1.7 meters. What is its total surface area, in square meters?
Tala's paper prism is a triangular prism 6 cm long. Each end is a right triangle with sides 20, 21 and 29 cm. What is its total surface area, in square cm?
7.
Zee paints only the curved side of a pillar candle, not its top or bottom. Which measure tells how much paint is needed?
- Total surface area: the sides and both bases
- Lateral area: only the sides
- Volume: the space inside
8.
Ari wraps a gift box in paper so that no cardboard shows. Which measure tells how much paper covers it?
Use the picture in question 7.
- Lateral area: only the sides, leaving the ends bare
- Volume: the space inside
- Total surface area: the sides and both bases
9.
Bo glues a label around the side of a can, leaving both ends bare. Which measure tells the label's area?
Use the picture in question 7.
- Volume: the space inside
- Total surface area: the sides and both bases
- Lateral area: only the sides
10.
Esme paints every outside face of a wooden box, bottom and lid too. Which measure tells the area painted?
Use the picture in question 7.
- Lateral area: only the sides
- Volume: the space inside
- Total surface area: the sides and both bases

8th grade Surface area of prisms and cylinders: problems worksheet – printable — Print: 1 2 3 4 5 6

About this worksheet

Surface area of prisms and cylinders: problems. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

I can find the lateral area (the sides) and the total surface area (the sides plus both bases) of a box, a cube, a triangular prism and a cylinder.
I can tell whether a story needs the lateral area, the total surface area or the volume.
I can work back from a surface area to a missing height, edge or radius.

Standard: state-only (prisms: CCSS 6.G.A.4, 7.G.B.6; cylinder surface area not in CCSS K–8)

Words to know

lateral area: The area of the sides only, not the two bases.

total surface area: The sides plus both bases: every face of the outside.

base: One of the two matching ends of a prism or cylinder.

perimeter of the base: The distance around one base: the width of the unrolled sides.

net: The solid unfolded flat.

Common mistakes

Your child added the two bases when only the sides were asked. Lateral area is the sides alone; total surface area adds the two bases.

Your child counted only the sides when the whole outside was asked. Total surface area adds both bases to the sides.

Your child added the perimeter and the height. The sides unroll into a rectangle: its area is its width times its height.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with surface area of prisms and cylinders: problems?

Your child added the two bases when only the sides were asked. Lateral area is the sides alone; total surface area adds the two bases.

Are these 8th grade math worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

More grade 8 math

See all grade 8 math

Every sheet you scan goes into your child’s record: dated, marked and ready for the year-end portfolio. Homeschool records