Maths · Recognising a Cube Net
The Net Checker
Only one of these layouts folds up into a cube. Fold them and watch what happens, then pick the one that closes.
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Why this works
Layout A is the only one whose six squares close onto six different sides of the cube, which is what makes it a net. Fold layout B instead and the square in the top row, far left lands on the same side as the square in the bottom row, third from the left, so one of them would have to cover the other. Every wrong layout here is a single square away from being a real net, so a layout that looks almost right usually is only almost right.
Helping a child through The Net Checker
It runs in 2 steps
- 1. Fold them. Tap two of the layouts to watch them try to fold. Only a real net closes into a cube - any other layout lands two squares on the same side.
- 2. Which one is a net?. Now pick the layout that folds into a cube with nothing covered up.
Hints, least revealing first
- Fold a layout one flap at a time and keep a finger on the square you started from. Watch where each flap ends up.
- Every layout here fills the grid and every one of them is a square away from folding, so nothing on the surface separates them. Fold each one up, keeping a finger on the square you started from.
- A layout is a cube net only when its six squares land on six different sides. Two squares on the same side means one would have to cover the other, and that layout is out.
When they finish it: “That one closes up, with a different side for every square.”
2 11+ skills this exercise practises
Each of these has its own page, with a worked example on it.
- Identify a cube netDetermine whether a net folds to a cube.
- Validate a cube netDetermine whether a 2D arrangement can fold into a cube.
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