The sphere: volume and surface area

The plane and space, grade 12 (3 units) Lesson 7 of 15Learning

The sphere: volume and surface area

The sphere

Every point on a sphere’s surface is at the same distance from its centre – the radius, $\displaystyle r$ . The diameter is twice the radius.

A great circle is a circle on the sphere whose centre is the sphere’s centre – like the equator on the Earth. Its radius is $\displaystyle r$ .
A hemisphere is the part of the sphere on one side of a great circle – like a dome.

The volume and surface area of a sphere

\displaystyle V

\displaystyle =

\displaystyle \frac{4\pi r^3}{3}

\displaystyle A

\displaystyle =

\displaystyle 4\pi r^2

A sphere’s surface area is exactly 4 times the area of a great disc, $\displaystyle \pi r^2$ .
For a hemisphere: half the volume, and half the curved surface, $\displaystyle 2\pi r^2$ – plus the disc closing it at the bottom, if there is one.

Example: a basketball

A basketball’s diameter is 24 cm, so its radius is 12 cm.

The leather wrapping it: $\displaystyle {A}={4\pi\cdot12^2}={576\pi\approx1809.56}$ cm².
The air inside it: $\displaystyle {V}={\frac{4\pi\cdot12^3}{3}}={2304\pi\approx7238.23}$ cm³, that is, about 7.24 litres.

Exercise 1

A football’s radius is 11 cm.
How many cm² of leather does it have? Round to two decimal places.

/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

Exercise 2

A gas tank at a factory is a sphere whose radius is 5 m.
How many m³ of gas fit in it? Round to two decimal places.

/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

Exercise 3

The roof of an observatory is a dome – a hemisphere whose radius is 10 m.
The dome is painted on the outside. A litre of paint covers 8 m².

a

How many m² are painted? Round to two decimal places.

/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

b

How many litres of paint are needed? Round to two decimal places.

/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

Exercise 4

Three tennis balls are sold in a tube that is a cylinder. Each ball’s radius is 3.3 cm.
The balls touch the tube’s sides, and the three of them together are exactly as tall as it: the tube’s radius is 3.3 cm, and its height $\displaystyle {6\cdot3.3}={19.8}$ cm.
What part of the tube do the balls fill? Write the answer as a fraction.

/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

Exercise 5

A basketball whose diameter is 24 cm is packed in a box that is a cube with an edge of 24 cm.
What percentage of the box does the ball fill? Round to a whole percent.

/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

Formulas: the plane and space, grade 12 (3 units)

The box and the cube

The volume of a box – $\displaystyle a$ , $\displaystyle b$ , $\displaystyle c$ its three dimensions
$\displaystyle V$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle abc$
The surface area of a box – three pairs of equal faces
$\displaystyle A$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle 2(ab+ac+bc)$
The volume of a cube – $\displaystyle a$ the edge
$\displaystyle V$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle a^3$
The surface area of a cube – six square faces
$\displaystyle A$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle 6a^2$

The prism

The volume of a prism – $\displaystyle B$ the base area, $\displaystyle h$ the height (the distance between the bases)
$\displaystyle V$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle B\cdot h$
The lateral area – $\displaystyle P$ the perimeter of the base
$\displaystyle L$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle P\cdot h$
The surface area – the two bases and the lateral surface
$\displaystyle A$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle 2B+L$

The cylinder

The volume of a cylinder – $\displaystyle r$ the radius of the base, $\displaystyle h$ the height
$\displaystyle V$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle \pi r^2h$
The curved surface area – a rectangle as long as the base’s circumference
$\displaystyle L$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle 2\pi rh$
The surface area – the two bases and the curved surface
$\displaystyle A$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle 2\pi r^2+2\pi rh$

The pyramid and the cone

The volume of a pyramid – a third of the prism with the same base and height
$\displaystyle V$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle \frac{B\cdot h}{3}$
In a square pyramid – $\displaystyle k$ the height of a side face, $\displaystyle h$ the pyramid’s height, $\displaystyle a$ the side of the base
$\displaystyle k^2$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle h^2+\left(\frac{a}{2}\right)^2$
The surface area of a square pyramid – the base and four triangles
$\displaystyle A$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle a^2+2ak$
The volume of a cone – a third of the cylinder with the same base and height
$\displaystyle V$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle \frac{\pi r^2h}{3}$
The slant height $\displaystyle l$ – the hypotenuse of a triangle whose legs are the radius $\displaystyle r$ and the height $\displaystyle h$
$\displaystyle l^2$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle r^2+h^2$
The curved surface area of a cone
$\displaystyle L$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle \pi rl$
The surface area of a cone – the base and the curved surface
$\displaystyle A$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle \pi r^2+\pi rl$

The sphere

The volume of a sphere – $\displaystyle r$ the radius
$\displaystyle V$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle \frac{4\pi r^3}{3}$
The surface area of a sphere
$\displaystyle A$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle 4\pi r^2$

Diagonals and distances

The diagonal of a box $\displaystyle d$ – $\displaystyle a$ , $\displaystyle b$ , $\displaystyle c$ its three dimensions
$\displaystyle d^2$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle a^2+b^2+c^2$
The diagonal of a cube – $\displaystyle a$ the edge
$\displaystyle d$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle a\sqrt{3}$
In a square pyramid – $\displaystyle s$ a side edge, $\displaystyle h$ the height, $\displaystyle a$ the side of the base
$\displaystyle s^2$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle h^2+\frac{a^2}{2}$

Trigonometry in a right-angled triangle

$\displaystyle a$ the leg opposite the angle $\displaystyle \alpha$ , $\displaystyle c$ the hypotenuse
$\displaystyle \sin\alpha$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle \frac{a}{c}$
$\displaystyle b$ the leg next to the angle $\displaystyle \alpha$
$\displaystyle \cos\alpha$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle \frac{b}{c}$
The leg opposite the angle over the leg next to it
$\displaystyle \tan\alpha$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle \frac{a}{b}$
The angle, when both legs are known
$\displaystyle \alpha=\tan^{-1}\left(\frac{a}{b}\right)$

The shortest path on the surface of a box

A path from a vertex to the vertex farthest from it, across two faces: unfolded, the diagonal of a rectangle with sides $\displaystyle a+b$ and $\displaystyle c$
$\displaystyle p^2$ $\displaystyle =$ $\displaystyle (a+b)^2+c^2$