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 / Grades 7 & 8 Mathematics / Area, Volume, and Angles (G) / All Exercises, Answers, and Solutions

Part A (Lesson 1-5)

EXERCISES
Exercises 

Answers and Solutions

Lesson 1: Areas of Parallelograms, Triangles, and Trapezoids

Part B (Lessons 6-10)

Exercises
1. Find the area of the parallelogram EF GH in the following two ways:
Answers and Solutions Method 1: Use the formula for the area of a parallelogram.

Method 2: View the parallelogram as being made up of two identical triangles and one
rectangle and then calculating the sum of these three areas.

Which method do you prefer and why?

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2. a. △ABC has a right angle at B, BC = 4, and has an area of 10 square units. What
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is the length of AB ?

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b. Parallelogram P QRS has base RS = 14 m and an area of 70 m2 . What is the
height of the parallelogram?

c. Trapezoid LM N O has an area of 21 cm2 and a height of 3 cm. One of the parallel
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sides, ON , is 8 cm long. What is the length of the other parallel side, LM ?

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3. In trapezoid ABCD , the parallel sides are AB = 50 cm and CD = 1 m. Also, AD = 35
cm.

a. What is the area of trapezoid ABCD in cm2 ?

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b. Point E is on side CD so that BE is perpendicular to CD . What is the area of
△BCE in m2 ?

4. Calculate the area of each triangle described below.

a. △ABC with A(0, 0), B(0, 5), and C(6, 0).

b. △P QR with P (0, 0), Q(3, 5) , and R(6, 0).

c. △XY Z with X(1, 1) , Y (0, 7) , and Z(6, 1) .

5. A rectangular area that measures 9 m by 16 m contains a path and two triangular gardens
as shown. Calculate the area of the path in two different ways.

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6. In the diagram below, right-angled △ABC has AB = 9 and AC = 41. Point D is on
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side BC with AD = 15. What is the area of △ACD ?

7. True or false.

a. If the height of a triangle is doubled, then the area of the triangle is doubled.

b. If the height of a trapezoid is doubled, then the area of trapezoid is doubled.

c. If the length of exactly one of the parallel sides (bases) of a trapezoid is doubled, then
the area of the trapezoid is doubled.

8. The following two trapezoids are similar (which means that corresponding sides are in
proportion). The smaller trapezoid has an area of 9 units squared and the larger trapezoid
has an area of 20.25 units squared. If the height of the smaller trapezoid is 4 units, then
what is the height of the larger trapezoid. Explain how you found your answer.

Lesson 2: Area of Composite Shapes

1. Find the area of each composite shape.

a.

b.

2. Decompose each of the following composite shapes in two different ways.

a.

b.

3. A trapezoidal granite countertop is being installed around a rectangular sink with dimensions
89 cm by 50 cm for a new kitchen. What is the total area of the granite countertop, in square
centimetres?

4. In the diagram, rectangle ABCD has an area of 40 . Point M is on AB so that

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AM = BM = 4 and point N is on CD so that CN = 2 . What is the area of
quadrilateral M BCN ?

5. A single piece of sod is typically rectangular in shape and measures 46 cm wide and 1.5
m long. Assuming that you can cut the sod, how many pieces of sod would be required to
cover the following lawn?

6. A rectangular wall is to be covered in wallpaper for which one roll is 50 cm wide

(horizontal) and 5.5 m long (vertical). The wall is 10 m wide and 2.7 m high and has

a rectangular door that is 1 m wide and 2.3 m high and

a rectangular window that is 2 m wide and 1 m high.

How many rolls of wallpaper are needed to cover the remaining area of the wall?

Note: The wallpaper must be hung vertically (from the ceiling down to the floor).

7. A circular pool has a radius of 2 m and is surrounded by a trapezoidal deck CDEF as

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shown. The two parallel sides of the trapezoid have lengths of CD = 10 m and F E = 13
m. The pool deck is surrounded by a concrete sidewalk with a width of 1 m. Find a way to
approximate the total area of the sidewalk and explain why your answer is only an
approximation. Can you calculate the area exactly?

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8. A rectangular piece of paper ABCD is folded so that the edge CD lies along edge AD
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making a crease DP . It is unfolded, and then folded again so that the edge AB lies along
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edge AD making a second crease AQ . The two creases meet at R, forming triangles
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P QR and ADR , as shown. The length of AB is 5 cm and the length of AD is 8 cm. Find
the area of CDRQ.

(NOTE: Students can use the properties of squares (and their diagonals) to find the
length from
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BC to
R)

Lesson 3: Surface Area

1. Match each net to the appropriate 3D solid and name.

1. Rectangular
Prism

a. i. 2. Triangular
Prism

3. Hexagonal
Prism

4. Cube
b. ii.

c. iii.

d. iv.

2. a. What additional measurement is needed in order to find the surface area of the
triangular prism shown below?

b. A triangular prism has a height of 3.6 cm. The triangular base is a right-angled triangle
with a base of 3 cm, a height of 4 cm, and third side (hypotenuse) measuring 5 cm.
Find the surface area of the triangular prism.

3. a. The net shown is folded to form a cube. Which number is on the face opposite to the
face containing the number 1?

b. The folded cube has a surface area of 294 cm2 . What is the side length of the cube?

4. The net of a gift box is shown below. The net consists of rectangles and regular hexagons.

Hint: A regular hexagon with a side length of

60 cm can be divided into six congruent equilateral triangles each with a base of
60 cm and a height of approximately
52 cm.
a. What 3D shape will the box create when it is assembled?

b. What is the approximate surface area of the box?

c. If cardboard comes in individual 360 cm × 360 cm sheets, then approximately how

much material would be left over after cutting out one of these nets?

5. a. How does the surface area of a cube change if the side lengths are all doubled? Use
an example to support your answer.

b. How does the surface area of a rectangular prism change if the side lengths are all
halved? Use an example to support your answer.

c. How does the surface area of a triangular prism change if the dimensions are doubled?
Use an example to support your answer.

6. A cube has side length 30 . A rectangular solid has edge lengths 20 , 30 , and L . If the cube
and the rectangular solid have equal surface areas, then what is the value of L ?

7. A rectangular prism has dimensions 4 by 3 by 2. A cube with side length 1 is cut out of one
corner of the prism creating a new solid. What is the surface area of the new solid? Does
your answer depend on the particular corner from which the cube is removed?

8. Sam and Alex are planning on creating packages to hold jelly beans. Sam suggests using a
box shaped like a rectangular prism and Alex suggests using a box shaped like a triangular
prism. They agree that a triangular prism would make for a more interesting box shape, but
Sam argues that this choice would result in too much wasted box material. Can you explain
exactly what waste Sam might be talking about?

Lesson 4: Volume and Capacity of Prisms

1. Explain how the volume of a prism is calculated. Explain why the answer will be in
cubic units.

2. How are the measurements of volume and capacity similar? How are they different?

3. A rectangular prism, with height 4 cm, length 8 cm, and width 2 cm, and a particular cube
have the same volume. What is the side length of the cube?

4. Heike said that since the base of the structure shown is a square of side length 5 cm and the
height of the structure is 16 cm, the volume of the structure can be calculated as
5 × 5 × 16 = 400 cm3 .

Explain the flaw in Heike's reasoning. Do you think the calculated volume of 400 cm3 is
smaller or larger than the actual volume of the structure?

5. a. A rectangular prism has height 4 m, width 5 m, and unknown length.

If the volume of the prism is 200 m3 , then what is the length of the prism?

b. A triangular prism has a right isosceles triangle as its base and a volume of 126 mm3 .
If the two equal sides of the base triangle are 6 mm long, what is the height of the
prism?

c. A trapezoidal prism has a length of 8 cm and a height of 5 cm and a volume of 200

cm3 .
Given the information about the trapezoidal base in the diagram, find the value of x .

6. A long piece of lumber (in the form of a rectangular prism) has dimensions 5 cm, 10 cm, and
7 m as shown.

a. What is the volume of this piece of lumber in cm3 ?

b. What is the volume of this piece of lumber in m3 ?

7. 64 identical blocks (unit cubes) are arranged to form a larger 4 × 4 × 4 cube. Some blocks
are removed from the front of the cube as shown in the image. What is the volume of the
new shape?

8. Find the total volume of the toy house with the shape and dimensions shown below.

9. A storage container in the form of a rectangular prism has outer dimensions of 2.43 m, 2.59
m, and 6.06 m. It is advertised that this storage container has a capacity of 33.1 m3 . Is this
the capacity that you would have expected? How do you think this capacity was calculated?

Lesson 5: Representing 3D Objects

1. Below you will find four 3D solids and four groups of 2D views. Match each 3D solid to a
group of 2D views that could arise from this solid.
Note that the 2D views may not represent the top, side, and front views of the solid as
displayed.

a. b. c. d.

I.

II.

III.

IV.

2. Draw the top, front, left, and right views of each solid. For each figure, determine which of
the 2D views are similar in shape, and which are different.

a. b. c.

3. Use isometric (triangular) dot paper to sketch each prism that is described.

a. A rectangular prism 5 units high, 2 units wide, and 3 units long.

b. A triangular prism 3 units high, with two sides of the base triangle that are 6 units and
5 units long.

4. Below are the front view, top view, and a side view of a house, including the dimensions.
Sketch a possible 3D model of the house and calculate the total volume of this house
(including the main floor and the attic).
Note: Do not sketch the house on triangular dot paper.

Top View Front View Side View

 5. Sketch the 3D solid given the following top view, front view, and right and left side views of
the solid.

Top View Front View Right View Left View

6. a. An apple juice can is in the form of a cylinder.

Source: Can - Violka08/iStock/Getty Images

Draw the top view, front view, and side view of the can. You can use a cylindrical object
from around the house to help.

b. The following tent is in the shape of a triangular prism with an equilateral base
measuring 1 m.

Draw the top view, front view, and side view of the tent.

7. In each part below you will see the top view and exactly one of the side views of a 3D solid.

a. What is a possible front view of a solid with the 2D views shown below? Is there more
than one choice?

Top View Side View

b. Draw at least two possibilities for a 3D solid with the 2D views shown below.

Top View Side View

8. Below are the top view, front view, and left and right side views of a 3D model. Sketch the 3D
model using these views and explain how you would determine the surface area of the
model. Are you able to do so with just the 2D views given?

Top View Front View Left View Right View

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