PAss Functional Skills

Volume and surface area

Volume and surface area for A Level Physics AQA: what it means, how to set the working out, and the questions it is asked in.
  • A Level
  • AQA
  • Physics
  • Spec R14 · R2
  • 8 min read
  • 8 revision boxes

Introduction

2 boxes
1 min read

What is volume and surface area?

Listen to this box

Transcript

A short spoken summary of volume and surface area and where it is used.

A spoken walk-through of volume and surface area before you read the notes.
Check the answer against an estimate before you move on, so a place-value slip is caught here.
Worth knowing: ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left.
5 rows

The volume and surface area reference table

Work through the method one line at a time and write down what changes at each step.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing volume and surface area laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.
Worth knowing: 34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}.
Term
Meaning
Example
Row 1 column 1
Row 1 column 2
34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}
Row 2 column 1
Row 2 column 2
a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2

Learning

4 boxes
3 steps

How to work with volume and surface area

The specification wording is precise here, and the mark scheme follows that wording exactly.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing volume and surface area laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.
Worth knowing: ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left.
  1. Read the question and write down what is being asked for.
  2. Set out the working for volume and surface area in the order the method gives.
  3. Substitute the values and simplify.
Start from the definition and substitute the numbers the question gives you.
Simplify one line at a time: 34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}.
Answer: 34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}
3 rules

Key facts: Volume and surface area

Read the units in the question before you start; a converted unit is the most common slip.

  • Rule 1

    How volume and surface area behaves in the 1st of the cases the specification names.
    ≈160\approx 160

  • Rule 2

    How volume and surface area behaves in the 2nd of the cases the specification names.
    x2+5x+6=0x^2 + 5x + 6 = 0

  • Rule 3

    How volume and surface area behaves in the 3rd of the cases the specification names.
    ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left
4 steps

How to work with volume and surface area

Check the answer against an estimate before you move on, so a place-value slip is caught here.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing volume and surface area laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.
  1. Read the question and write down what is being asked for.
  2. Set out the working for volume and surface area in the order the method gives.
  3. Substitute the values and simplify.
Start from the definition and substitute the numbers the question gives you.
Simplify one line at a time: a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2.
Answer: ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left
2 rules

Key facts: Volume and surface area

Work through the method one line at a time and write down what changes at each step.

  • Rule 1

    How volume and surface area behaves in the 1st of the cases the specification names.
    34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}

  • Rule 2

    How volume and surface area behaves in the 2nd of the cases the specification names.
    34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}

  • Rule 3

    How volume and surface area behaves in the 3rd of the cases the specification names.
    x2+5x+6=0x^2 + 5x + 6 = 0

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Examples

2 boxes
4 marks · worked

Worked example: volume and surface area

This idea appears again in the higher-mark questions, so it is worth over-learning.
Worth knowing: ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left.
3 marks · worked

Practice question 8: ≈160\approx 160

This idea appears again in the higher-mark questions, so it is worth over-learning.
Worth knowing: ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left.

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Common questions

How many marks is volume and surface area usually worth?
Between one and four, depending on how many steps the question asks for.
Is this on the A Level Physics AQA paper?
Yes — it sits in the Change over time strand.