Nets and 3D shapes questions are solved on paper, one step at a time: read the plan, then stack or fold. Children in Year 7 now sit the exam in Year 8 , expected in June 2027.
What does a nets and 3D shapes question look like?
A nets and 3D shapes question gives a solid as a table: a plan seen from above or a net laid flat. It sits in the Mathematics part, which shares a 60-minute sitting with Quantitative Reasoning.
The question asks how many cubes there are, what a view looks like or which faces meet. These three are our own questions, from easier to harder.
The real exam is on paper, with answers shaded in a supplied answer booklet. So your child has to picture the cubes and the folds in their head. Each question here shows the answer and the working, so read them together.
If the working is hard to picture, build the shape with blocks or fold a paper net together. Seeing the real thing makes each step clear.
Worked explanation 1
Zara builds a model from identical cubes on a 3 × 3 square base. The table shows the base seen from above. Each number tells you how many cubes are stacked on that square. How many cubes did Zara use altogether?
Left
Middle
Right
Back
2
1
3
Middle
1
0
2
Front
3
1
1
AA.
8
BB.
9
CC.
14
DD.
27
Answer: C
Answer: C
Add every number in the grid: 2 + 1 + 3 + 1 + 0 + 2 + 3 + 1 + 1 = 14 cubes. The tempting 9 counts the squares of the base, and 8 counts only the squares with cubes on them; neither counts the cubes stacked on top of each other.
Worked explanation 2
A model is made from identical cubes. The table shows its base seen from above, and each number tells you how many cubes are stacked on that square. Seen from the front, the model looks like three columns of squares. How many squares tall is each column, from left to right?
Left
Middle
Right
Back
1
3
2
Middle
2
1
1
Front
1
2
0
AA.
1, 2, 0
BB.
4, 6, 3
CC.
1, 3, 2
DD.
2, 3, 2
Answer: D
Answer: D
From the front you see the tallest stack in each column, because shorter stacks hide behind it. Left column: tallest is 2. Middle: 3. Right: 2. So the view is 2, 3, 2. The tempting 1, 2, 0 is only the front row; the taller stacks behind it still show above it.
Worked explanation 3
The table shows the net of a cube: six squares labelled P to U, joined edge to edge in a staircase. Blank cells are empty. P and Q are side by side in the top row. R is directly below Q, with S to the right of R. T is directly below S, with U to the right of T. When the net is folded into a cube, which two faces are opposite each other?
Column 1
Column 2
Column 3
Column 4
Top row
P
Q
Middle row
R
S
Bottom row
T
U
AA.
P and S
BB.
P and U
CC.
Q and S
DD.
R and T
Answer: A
Answer: A
Fold it in your head with R as the base. Q folds up at the back and S on the right. P folds round from Q to make the left side, opposite S. T becomes the front and U the top. The tempting P and U are furthest apart on the net, but P is a side and U is the top, so they share an edge.
Give spatial questions a slow first look, and write as you go, because a picture held only in the head slips. These steps are ours, drawn from the working in the answers above.
Say what each number means
In a plan seen from above, each number is a stack of cubes on that square. Saying it aloud stops your child counting squares instead of cubes.
Pick the view the question asks for
From the front, each column shows its tallest stack, because shorter stacks hide behind it. From above, every square with a cube shows.
Fix one face of the net as the base
Choose a square near the middle, such as R, and fold the others up around it one at a time.
Name every face before answering
Write base, top, front, back, left and right beside the letters. Opposite pairs are then easy to read off.
Check the kind of answer
A total of cubes, a list of heights and a pair of faces are different kinds of answer. Make sure the choice matches the question.
What are the common traps?
Each wrong option comes from seeing part of the shape, not all of it. For each one, ask your child what was counted or which side it looks from.
Counting squares, not cubes. In the first question, 9 is the number of squares in the base and 8 is the squares with cubes on them. The answer, 14, adds every stack.
Reading only the front row. In the second question, 1, 2, 0 is just the front row. Taller stacks behind it still show above it, so the view is 2, 3, 2.
Choosing the faces furthest apart. In the third question, P and U are far apart on the flat net. Once folded they share an edge, and P is opposite S.
How can we practise it at home?
Use sugar cubes, dice or building blocks. Build a small model on a 3 × 3 grid, write its plan as numbers, and ask your child to sketch the front and side views. Then swap: your child writes a plan and you build it.
For nets, cut a cereal box into six joined squares and fold it back up. Before folding, ask which faces will end up opposite each other. Keep to a few short sessions a week rather than one long one.
On the day there are no blocks to hold, so the test is whether the picture holds in your child's head. Practice test 1 in our selective entry practice tests is free and follows the real exam's parts and times.
