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Cross-sections of solids worksheets

Slice a solid and you are left with a flat face. Which face depends on the solid AND on the cut, and these free printable worksheets ask for both: a prism, pyramid, cylinder, cone or sphere, a plane described in words, and five shapes to circle.

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Cross-sections of solids
Cross-sections of solids worksheet — Prisms, pyramids, round solids, free printable with answer key

The answer key prints on a separate page.

What's on this sheet

Two facts do all the work. A cut parallel to the base never reaches the sides, so the face it leaves is a copy of the base — the same size on a prism or a cylinder, a smaller one on a pyramid or a cone. A cut straight down the middle does the opposite: it slices the SIDES, so the face comes from how the sides are shaped. Parallel sides give a rectangle; sides that meet at a point give a triangle.

Why this sheet works

That second one is where the marks are lost. A hexagonal pyramid cut down the middle is a TRIANGLE, not a smaller hexagon, and a student who has only met the parallel cut answers with the base every time. Both cuts are on the mixed sheet for that reason.

How this one works

What shape is the cross-section?

parallel to the base→a copy of the base
base: pentagon→Pentagon
  1. A cut parallel to the base never reaches the sides — it travels the same way the base does, all the way round. So the face it leaves is a copy of the base.
  2. This solid's base is a pentagon, so the cross-section is a pentagon. On a pyramid or a cone it is a SMALLER copy, because the solid narrows as you go up.

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