Views and Nets of 3D Objects
Every 3D object can be flattened into a net and described by its top, front, and side views. Students move between the solid, its 2D views, and its net — the spatial reasoning behind surface area and engineering drawings.
What students explore
Students draw and interpret orthographic (top, front, side) views, match nets to solids, and fold nets back into 3D objects, connecting the faces of a net to surface area.
Key ideas
A net is the unfolded surface of a solid; each face appears exactly once. Top, front, and side views show a solid from three directions and together describe its shape. Counting the faces of a net is the first step in finding surface area.
Worked example
The net of a triangular prism has 5 faces: two triangular ends and three rectangular sides. The net of a cube has 6 identical square faces, and there are 11 distinct nets that fold into a cube.