Question

For each situation, decide if it requires Noah to calculate surface area or volume. Explain your reasoning.

1. Noah is planning to paint the bird house he built. He is unsure if he has enough paint.
2. Noah is planning to use a box with a trapezoid base to hold modeling clay. He is unsure if the clay will all fit in the box.
Noah is planning to paint the bird house he is unsure if he has enough paint

Answer 1

Noah needs to calculate surface area in the first situation and volume in the second situation.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the first situation, Noah needs to calculate the surface area of the bird house to determine how much paint he will need. Surface area represents the total area of all the surfaces of an object, so to paint the bird house, Noah needs to know the combined area of all its sides.

In the second situation, Noah needs to calculate the volume of the box to see if all the modeling clay will fit. Volume represents the amount of space inside an object, so Noah needs to determine if the box has enough space to hold all the clay.