PAss Functional Skills

Volume and surface area

Volume and surface area for GCSE Chemistry OCR Foundation: what it means, how to set the working out, and the questions it is asked in.
  • GCSE
  • OCR
  • Chemistry
  • Foundation
  • Spec A9 · A20 · A3
  • 9 min read
  • 10 revision boxes

Introduction

2 boxes
2 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.
Work through the method one line at a time and write down what changes at each step.
6 rows

The volume and surface area reference table

Check the answer against an estimate before you move on, so a place-value slip is caught here.
Worth knowing: 49=7\sqrt{49} = 7.
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
≈160\approx 160

Learning

6 boxes
4 steps

How to work with volume and surface area

Read the units in the question before you start; a converted unit is the most common slip.
Worth knowing: 34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}.
  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.
  4. Check the answer against an estimate before writing it down.
Start from the definition and substitute the numbers the question gives you.
Simplify one line at a time: x2+5x+6=0x^2 + 5x + 6 = 0.
Answer: 34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}
2 rules

Key facts: Volume and surface area

The specification wording is precise here, and the mark scheme follows that wording exactly.

  • 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.
    ≈160\approx 160
4 steps

How to work with volume and surface area

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}.
  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.
  4. Check the answer against an estimate before writing it down.
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

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.

  • 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.
    x2+5x+6=0x^2 + 5x + 6 = 0
4 steps

How to work with volume and surface area

Read the units in the question before you start; a converted unit is the most common slip.
  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.
  4. Check the answer against an estimate before writing it down.
Start from the definition and substitute the numbers the question gives you.
Simplify one line at a time: x2+5x+6=0x^2 + 5x + 6 = 0.
Answer: 49=7\sqrt{49} = 7
2 rules

Key facts: Volume and surface area

The specification wording is precise here, and the mark scheme follows that wording exactly.

  • Rule 1

    How volume and surface area behaves in the 1st of the cases the specification names.
    x2+5x+6=0x^2 + 5x + 6 = 0

  • Rule 2

    How volume and surface area behaves in the 2nd of the cases the specification names.
    a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2

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Examples

2 boxes
2 marks · worked

Worked example: volume and surface area

Sketch the shape even when the question does not ask for one — it makes the next step obvious.
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 marks · worked

Practice question 10: ≈160\approx 160

This idea appears again in the higher-mark questions, so it is worth over-learning.

Practice bank

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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 GCSE Chemistry OCR Foundation paper?
Yes — it sits in the Change over time strand.