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Surface Area of Square Pyramids Calculator

QUICK LINKS


STUDENT
TEACHER

Surface Area of Square Pyramids Calculator

Surface Area of Square Pyramids

CALCULATOR

Surface Area of Square Pyramids Calculator

What is your shape?

Remember: is the slanted height of the pyramid!

Step 1. Unwrap the square pyramid.

This gives us our net:

Step 2. Calculate the area of each part of the net that makes up the square pyramid.

Sides with the same color mark are the same size 🎉.
ShapeArea
1
(Square)
2
(Triangle)
3
(Triangle)
4
(Triangle)
5
(Triangle)

Step 3. Add up the areas of the shapes that make up the square pyramid.

The surface area of this square pyramid is .
We have some questions for you! Help us out through this
INTRO
The surface area of a 3D shape is equal to the sum of the areas of all the faces (sides) of that shape. A helpful way to think about it is:
surface area = sum of face areas
We can also think about surface area in terms of gifts! The surface area is like the minimum amount of wrapping paper we need to prep a gift for its surprise reveal. 🤩If we were to unwrap a gift, the amount of wrapping would be equal to the surface area of the object it was covering.
When we “unwrap” a 3D shape, we get what we call a net. A surface area net shows us the different 2D shapes that make up the faces of the 3D shape.
We can then find the area of each face and then add them all together to find the total surface area.

What is lateral surface area?

When working with pyramids, cylinders, and cones, you may also be asked to find the lateral surface area.
Lateral surface area is simply the total surface area of an object minus the area of its base(s).
Check out our
Calculator
or explore our
Lesson
and
Practice
sections to learn more about how to find the surface area of square pyramids and test your understanding.

You can also use the Quick Links menu on the left to jump to a section of your choice.

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KEY STEPS

How to Find Surface Area of Square Pyramids

Step 1. Unwrap the square pyramid.

Step 2. Calculate the area of each part of the net that makes up the square pyramid.

Square
Triangles

Step 3. Add up the areas of the shapes that make up the square pyramid.

LESSON
Surface Area of Square Pyramids
PRACTICE
Surface Area of Square Pyramids
CONCLUSION
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