MockStar

Follow one thing on paper: what you see, where it goes after a turn or a flip, where a face lands when folded. Don't turn the whole shape in your head.

  1. 1Compass Directions5:50
  2. 2Position and Routes6:59
  3. 3Top, Front and Side Views5:45
  4. 4Working Between Views5:11
  5. 5Rotation4:25
  6. 6Reflection3:41
  7. 7Rotational Symmetry4:27
  8. Now playing: 8Nets and Folding10:43

Spatial Reasoning: Nets and Folding

Methods in this video

Tap a time to jump to where the video teaches that method.

  1. 1

    Squares that touch are never opposite

    When to use it: The question tells you which faces are opposite (for example, opposite faces of a dice add up to 7) and asks which net or cube is correct, and in each wrong option two faces that should be opposite are touching.

    • Two squares that share an edge in the net always touch once folded, so they can never be opposite.
    • If the question tells you which faces are opposite, find a pair that touches in an option and that option is out.
  2. 2

    One square between in a line, or the two ends of a Z: opposite

    When to use it: The question shows one net and asks which faces end up opposite each other after folding, or whether two faces are opposite.

    • Two squares in a line with one square between them are opposite.
    • The two end squares of a Z shape are opposite too.
    • Watch out: squares far apart on the flat net can still touch once folded. Check the line and Z rules, not the distance.
  3. 3

    Two squares crash onto the same face: no cube

    When to use it: The question asks which shape can fold into a cube, or whether adding one more square makes a cube net.

    • Use the line and Z rules to give every square its opposite. Each square needs exactly one.
    • If two squares both land opposite the same square (like both ends of a row of 5), it will not fold into a cube.
  4. 4

    The zipper: close the notch, then zip on at three squares

    When to use it: The question asks which corners come together, or which two edges join into one edge, once the net is folded.

    • Faces that share an edge in the net are neighbours on the cube.
    • Start at a notch and close edges in pairs. Each time three squares meet at a corner, zip on to the next pair until you reach the corner or edge the question asks about.
  5. 5

    A pattern follows the edge it touches

    When to use it: The faces of the net carry patterns that point a certain way (such as half-shaded triangles or arrows), and the question asks which cube matches after folding.

    • First find the corner where the patterned faces meet on the cube.
    • A pattern follows the edge it touches: the side on the fold line stays put and the rest swings up 90°.

Practise exam-style questions with these methods

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