Properties of shape - Count faces on 3D shapes - Worksheet

This educational resource is designed to help children understand and identify the faces of various 3-D shapes by relating them to their 2-D counterparts. The worksheet encourages students to count the number of flat faces on shapes such as cuboids, cylinders, cubes, cones, square-based pyramids, and triangular prisms. To prevent errors in counting, children are advised to mark each face with blue tac or other means. This hands-on approach helps them to recognize and visualize 3-D shapes from 2-D representations, enhancing their spatial awareness and geometric understanding.

In addition to the practical task of counting faces, the worksheet also includes reasoning and problem-solving challenges. These exercises prompt students to apply their knowledge in different scenarios, such as determining the hidden 3-D shape based on the description of its faces, or figuring out which shapes could be in someone's pocket given a clue about the number of square faces in total. Answers are provided to facilitate self-assessment and to confirm the correct identification of shapes, such as recognizing that two cubes would have a total of 12 square faces, or that a shape with a square face and triangle faces is a square-based pyramid. This comprehensive approach to learning ensures that students not only become fluent in identifying 3-D shapes but also precise in their understanding of their properties.