Comparing Prisms Without Building Them

This Instructional Activity is a part of the Lesson 16, Unit 1, Grade 6. Previously, students studied shapes with the same volume but different surface areas. Here they see that it is also possible for shapes to have the same surface area but different volumes. Students think about how the appearance of these shapes might compare visually. Students are given the side lengths of three rectangular prisms and asked to find the surface area and the volume of each.