Area of a Cube Calculator
Welcome to our Area of a Cube Calculator page.
We explain how to find the surface area of a cube and provide a quick calculator to work it out for you, step-by-step.
There is a separate calculator which will find the length of the side of a square, if you already know the surface area.
You can also take a look at our worked examples and try our practice sheets to help you master this skill.
Quicklinks to ...
Area of a Cube Calculator
This calculator finds the area of a cube when the side length is known.
How the Calculator Works
- Choose the length of side value: you can choose a whole number, decimal or fraction.
- You can type a fraction by typing the numerator then '/' then the denominator.
- You can type a mixed number by typing the whole-number part, then a space then the fraction part.
- Examples: 2 1/2 (two and one-half); 3 4/5 (three and four-fifths); 7 1/3 (seven and one-third).
- Choose your units of measurement (default is none)
- Choose your desired accuracy (default is 2 decimal places)
- Click the Find Area button
- You will be shown the area as a decimal (and also a fraction if you typed the length as a fraction).
Area of a Cube Calculator 2
This calculator finds the side length of the square when the area is known.
How the Calculator Works
- Choose the area value: you can choose a whole number, decimal or fraction.
- Choose your units of measurement (default is none)
- Choose your desired accuracy (default is 2 decimal places)
- Click the Find Side Length button
- You will be shown the side length as a decimal to the required accuracy.
Surface Area of a Cube Explanation
To find the surface area of a cube, we need to add up the areas of each of the 6 identical faces.
The area of each face is s2, so this gives us a total area of 6s2.
Surface Area of a Cube Formula
The formula for the area of a cube is: A = 6s2, where s is the length of one of the sides.
Surface Area of a Cube Examples
Area of a Cube Example 1
Find the surface area of the cube below.
The length of each side of the cube is 17 cm.
The formula for the surface area of a cube is \[ A = 6 s^2, \; where \; s \; is \; the \; length \; of \; each \; side. \]
So this means that \[ A = 6 \cdot 17^2 = 6 \cdot 17 \cdot 17 = 1734 \]
This means that the surface area of the cube is 1734 cm2.
Area of a Cube Example 2
Find the surface area of the cube below, giving your answer as a fraction.
The length of each side of the cube is 8 ½ inches.
The formula for the surface area of a cube is \[ A = 6 s^2, \; where \; s \; is \; the \; length \; of \; each \; side. \]
The area of the cube: \[ A = 6 \cdot (8 {1 \over 2}) ^2 = 6 \cdot (8 {1 \over 2}) \cdot (8 {1 \over 2}) = 6 \cdot {189 \over 4} = {867 \over 2} \]
This means that the surface area of the cube is: \[ {867 \over 2} \; or\; 433 {1 \over 2} \; square \; inches \]
Area of a Cube Example 3
Find the surface area of the cube below.
The length of each side of the cube is 1.4 meters.
The area of the cube: \[ A = 6 \cdot (1.4) ^2 = 6 \cdot (1.4) \cdot (1.4) = 6 \cdot 1.96 = 11.76 \]
This means that the surface area of the cube is: \[ 1.76 \; m^2 \]
Area of a Cube Example 4
Use the surface area of the cube below to find the length of each side correct to 1 decimal place.
The surface area of the cube is 980 cm2.
The formula for the surface area of a cube is \[ A = 6 s^2, \; where \; s \; is \; the \; length \; of \; each \; side. \]
We can rearrange this equation in terms of the side length s to give us:
\[ s = \sqrt ({A \over 6}) \]
Substituting the value of A into this equation gives us:
\[ s = \sqrt ({980 \over 6 }) = \sqrt ({490 \over 3}) = 12.78019...\]
This means that the length of each side is 12.8 cm to 1 decimal place.
Surface Area of a Cube Worksheets
We have created two worksheets for you to practice the skill of finding the area and sde lengths of a range of different cubes.
Sheet 1: you have to find the surface area of different cubes using the side length measurements.
Sheet 2: you have to find the side lengths of different cubes using the surface area measurements.
You can use our area of a cube calculator to check you working out if you get stuck!
More Recommended Math Worksheets
Take a look at some more of our worksheets similar to these.
Volume of a Cube Calculator
We also have a volume of a cube calculator page which is similar to this page, but with volume instead of area.
There are worksheets, worked examples and support as well as a calculator to help you find the volume of a range of cubes.
More Surface Area Worksheets and Support Pages
More Area Support and Resources
We have a range of other area worksheets and support pages for a range of different 2d shapes.
More Area & Volume Calculators
We have a range of area and volume calculators to help you find the area and volumes of a range of different 2d and 3d shapes.
Each calculator page comes with worked examples, formulas and practice worksheets.
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How to Print or Save these sheets
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Follow these 3 easy steps to get your worksheets printed out perfectly!
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