SAT II Math I : 3-Dimensional Geometry

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT II Math I

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Example Questions

Example Question #21 : Solid Geometry

The circumference of the base of a cone is 100; the height of the cone is equal to the diameter of the base. Give the surface area of the cone (nearest whole number).

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The formula for the surface area of a cone with base of radius  and slant height  is

.

The diameter of the base is the circumference divided by , which is 

This is also the height .

The radius is half this, or 

The slant height can be found by way of the Pythagorean Theorem:

Substitute in the surface area formula:

Example Question #21 : Advanced Geometry

If a cone were unfurled into a 2-dimensional figure. The lateral area of the cone would look most like which figure? 

Possible Answers:

Circle

Rectangle

Sector of a Circle

Triangle

Correct answer:

Sector of a Circle

Explanation:

When creating a net image of a 3D figure - one imagines it is made of paper and is unfurled into its' 2D form. The lateral portion of the cone cone would be unfurled into the image of a Sector of a Circle. To include the full surface area of the cone a circle is included to form the base of the cone as in the figure below. The lateral area portion is the top part of the figure below. 

Cone net

Example Question #21 : Surface Area

Find the surface area of a cube with side length of 6in.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

A cube is made up of 6 identical sides. Find the area of one side and multiplying it by 6 will result in the surface area of a cube.

a is the side length, in this case 6in.

Example Question #21 : Surface Area

What is the surface area of a cylinder with height 10 and radius 7?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The formula of the surface area of a cylinder is:

In this problem h is 10 and r is 7. Substituting in those values gives us:

Simplifying and combining the like terms results in:

Example Question #23 : Surface Area

Figure not drawn to scale.

Box example

Find the surface area of the box above.

Possible Answers:

Surface area: 82 yd2

Surface area: 48 yd2

Surface area: 82 yd3

Surface area: 84 yd3

Surface area: 84 yd2

Correct answer:

Surface area: 82 yd2

Explanation:

Box example

You can find the surface area of a box by following the equation below:

The surface area of the box is 82yd(remember that area measurements are square units NOT cubic units)

Example Question #51 : 3 Dimensional Geometry

Box 3

The shaded face of the provided rectangular prism is a square. If the surface area of the prism is , give  in terms of .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Since the top face of the prism is a square, the common sidelength - and the missing dimension - is 25.

The surface area  of a rectangular prism with length , width , and height  can be found using the formula

.

Setting, and solving for :

 

Example Question #1 : Faces, Face Area, And Vertices

How many vertices does a polyhedron with twenty faces and thirty edges have?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

By Euler's Formula, the relationship between the number of vertices , the number of faces , and the number of edges  of a polyhedron is 

Set  and , and solve for :

The polyhedron has tweve vertices.

Example Question #1 : Faces, Face Area, And Vertices

How many edges does a polyhedron with nine vertices and eleven faces have?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

By Euler's Formula, the relationship between the number of vertices , the number of faces , and the number of edges  of a polyhedron is 

Set  and  and solve for :

The polyhedron has eighteen edges.

Example Question #1 : Other 3 Dimensional Geometry

A rectangular prism has a height of 4 in., length of 8in., and a width of 7in. Find the volume of the prism.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the volume of a rectangular prism we use the equation of:

Now substituting in our values we get:

Example Question #1 : Other 3 Dimensional Geometry

What is the volume of a triangular prism having a base of 2, a height of 8, and second height of 14?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the volume of a triangular prism we use the equation 

In our case our 

Therefore,

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