Interactive cross-sections activity for 7.G.A.3. Students slice rectangular prisms and square pyramids, name each 2D cross-section, and compute its dimensions from the solid's measurements. A move-the-plane slider lets them explore before committing, with answers revealed only when correct. Includes curved-solid extensions. Self-checking and no-prep.
Slice It: Cross-Sections of Solids — Interactive 7.G.A.3 Activity
Help your students master cross-sections with this hands-on, self-checking digital activity built for Common Core standard 7.G.A.3. Instead of guessing from a flat textbook picture, students slide a cutting plane through 3D solids, name the two-dimensional shape that results, and calculate its dimensions from the solid's given measurements. The cross-section reveals only when their shape and dimensions are both correct, so students get immediate feedback and stay engaged.
This activity moves students beyond simply naming shapes. They reason about why a slice produces a given cross-section and how its size relates to the original solid, connecting cross-sections to the proportional and similarity reasoning at the heart of Grade 7.
What's included:
Skills students practice:
Perfect for: in-class practice, math centers, homework, sub plans, early finishers, or test review on cross-sections and geometry.
Standard alignment: CCSS 7.G.A.3 — Describe the two-dimensional figures that result from slicing three-dimensional figures.
Grade level: 7th grade math (also useful as review or enrichment for 8th grade geometry)
Students describe the two-dimensional cross-section that results when a plane slices a right rectangular prism or right rectangular pyramid (7.G.A.3). For each slice they name the shape and compute its dimensions from the solid's measurements, reasoning that a slice parallel to a face is congruent to that face (prism), and that a slice parallel to the base is a similar, scaled-down copy (pyramid). By the end, students can predict how a cross-section's shape and size change as the slicing plane's position and orientation change.
Describe the two-dimensional figures that result from slicing three-dimensional figures, as in plane sections of right rectangular prisms and right rectangular pyramids.
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