Lesson 5.3: Scale Factors, Areas, Surface Areas, and Volume

A fairly accessible piece of technology called a 3-D printer builds plastic models of almost anything that can be represented on a scale diagram. 3-D printers are programmed with exact measurements using 3-D blueprint software. Using the printer allows companies to show customers the size and shape of new products such as cellular phones or tablets. Seeing a plastic version of a device can help customers decide if they are comfortable with a particular product size before investing a great deal of money.

Lesson 5.3 will explore the area of 2-D shapes and the surface area and volume of 3-D objects and their relationship to scale factors.


In Lesson 5.3, you will

  • determine the area of 2-D shapes given the scale diagram
  • determine the surface area and volume of 3-D objects given the scale diagram
  • explain how scale factor, area, surface area, and volume are related
  • solve problems involving scale factors, area, surface area, and volume