Nets of Cubes!
Use the slider to close the net. You will notice that the cube looks like the cube we painted in Activity 1. It has one purple top and one purple bottom face. It also has four green side faces.
How many squares make up each of these nets? These will make the faces of the cube.
Is each face connected to at least one other face?
Use the blue slider to look at the first 8 nets. What do you notice about the green squares?
In these first 8 examples, what do you notice about the position of the purple squares in relation to the green squares?
Nets 9-11 are a tricky, but it is still possible to look at the colour arrangements to help you decide if they are nets of a cube.
Move the slider to reveal pattern 9. Make sure that the net is open. You will notice that there are only three green squares in a row. Can you visualise how the last green square could join this row when rolled over into a cube form?
Next look at the position of the purple squares. Notice how they still sit on opposite sides of the green row. This rule does not change.
Now look at patterns 10-11. Notice how they have similar patterns. Visualise rolling the green squares that are out of place to form a line!
Practice moving the open/close slider for each different net. Go slowly and pay special attention to noticing the point at which you can see the cube formed in your mind, before it is fully closed. This 'visualisation' skill is what we are trying to develop. Keep practicing!