A solid shape can be picked up. A flat shape can only be drawn.
Step 1: Let's Learn
Read it, or press Listen and follow the words.
The cube
A cube has 6 faces, and every face is a square.
A cube is not a square
A square is flat. A cube is solid and made of six squares.
Faces, edges, and corners
A face is a flat surface you could put your hand on. An edge is the line where two faces meet. A corner, or vertex, is the point where edges meet. Three words for three different features, and it helps to touch each one on a real box while you say its name.
Counting them on a cube
A cube has 6 faces, 12 edges, and 8 corners. Count them on a dice: top, bottom, and four sides makes 6 faces; four edges around the top, four around the bottom, four upright makes 12. Counting in an organised way is what stops you losing your place.
Flat shapes and solid shapes
A square is flat — it has no thickness. A cube is solid and takes up space. A square is one face of a cube. Keeping these apart matters, because their names sound similar and their properties are not.
Step 2: Try It Yourself
Tap and try it out.
Cube
Flat faces
6
Does it roll?
No
A cube has 6 square faces.
Rectangular prism
Flat faces
6
Does it roll?
No
A rectangular prism has 6 flat faces, like a box.
Step 3: Watch an Example
One step at a time.
Watch Leo Check a Box
Leo is holding a dice and a cereal box.
- Step 1
He counts the faces on the dice: 6, and each one is a square.
Step 4: Your Turn
Practice makes it stick.
The Dice
Problem 1 of 2
How many faces does a cube have?
Flat or Solid
Problem 2 of 2
Is a square flat or solid?
Solids and Faces
1 of 3
How many square faces does a cube have?
2 of 3
How many flat faces does a cylinder have?
3 of 3
Which one is solid?
Step 5: Quick Check
Show what you know.
Question 1 of 2
How many faces does a cube have?
Question 2 of 2
What shape is every face of a cube?
What You Learned
- A cube has 6 faces and every one is a square.
- A square is flat. A cube is solid.
- Solids are described by their faces.