Myths about teaching can hold you back
- Year 11•
- Higher
- Year 11•
- Higher
The volume of a sphere
I can calculate the volume of a sphere.
These resources were made for remote use during the pandemic, not classroom teaching.
Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The volume of a sphere can be found by displacement.
- Putting a sphere into a cylinder filled with water displaces the water.
- When the sphere is removed, the water level drops.
- The volume of the sphere is the difference between the volume of the cylinder and water.
- There is a formula you can use to calculate the volume of a sphere.
Keywords
Sphere - A sphere is a 3D shape, where every point on its surface is equidistant from the centre.
Common misconception
Pupils may multiply the radius of the sphere by the constant before cubing it.
Remind pupils of the order of operations and the need to cube the radius before multiplying by the constants in the formula.
To help you plan your year 11 maths lesson on: The volume of a sphere, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 11 maths lesson on: The volume of a sphere, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 maths lessons from the 2D and 3D shape: surface area and volume (pyramids, spheres and cones) unit, dive into the full secondary maths curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.A is a 3D shape, where every point on its surface is equidistant from the centre.
Q2.Which of the following calculates the surface area of a sphere, with a radius of $$r$$?
Q3.Match each sphere to its surface area.
Diameter of sphere = 10 cm -
100𝜋
Radius of sphere = 4 cm -
64𝜋
Radius of sphere = 3 cm -
36𝜋
Diameter of sphere = 1 cm -
𝜋
Radius of sphere = 2 cm -
16𝜋
Diameter of sphere = 2 cm -
4𝜋
Q4.A sphere has a surface area of 9𝜋 m². The radius of the sphere is m.
Q5.The radius of this hemisphere is 20 cm. Work out the total surface area of the hemisphere. Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures.
Q6.The total surface area of this hemisphere is 432𝜋 cm². The radius of the hemisphere is cm.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.A sphere is a 3D shape, where every point on its surface is from the centre.
Q2.Work out the volume of a sphere with radius 2.5 m. Give your answer correct to 1 decimal place.
Q3.A sphere has a radius of 6 mm. The volume of the sphere, in terms of 𝜋, is 𝜋 mm³.
Q4.Which of these calculations finds the volume of a hemisphere with a radius of 12 cm?
Q5.The volume of a hemisphere with a radius of 12 cm, in terms of $$\pi$$, is $$\pi$$ cm³.
Q6.The volume of a hemisphere is 144𝜋 cm³. The surface area of the hemisphere, in terms of 𝜋, is 𝜋 cm².