Surface Areas and Volumes — CBSE Class 10 Maths Important Questions
13 CBSE Class 10 Maths practice questions on Surface Areas and Volumes, each with a full model answer, covering 5 topics from the chapter in the question formats used in the exam.
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Reviewed by Classmate AI Team · 30 September 2026
Last updated 25 October 2026
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Surface Areas and Volumes — CBSE Class 10 Maths Important Questions
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Start your Freemium planFor a combined solid, volumes always add, but for surface area you add only the exposed curved/plane surfaces (never the hidden joining faces). For a cone always find the slant height first: l=√(r²+h²). When a part is scooped out, subtract its volume but add the curved surface of the cavity.
About Surface Areas and Volumes
This chapter combines the standard solids (cylinder, cone, sphere, hemisphere) into real objects such as toys, tents, capsules, ice-cream cones and containers, and also covers solids with a part scooped out. The single most common mistake is forgetting the slant height l=√(r²+h²) for cones and wrongly including hidden faces in surface area.
Key concepts & formulas
Cylinder: CSA =2π rh, Volume =π r²h. Cone: CSA =π rl, Volume =1/3π r²h. Sphere: SA =4π r², Volume =4/3π r³. Hemisphere: CSA =2π r², TSA =3π r², Volume =2/3π r³.
Volume of a combined solid = sum of the volumes of its parts. Surface area = sum of the exposed surfaces only; the shared or joined faces are not counted.
For any cone (or the conical part of a solid), l=√(r²+h²). It is needed for CSA of a cone =π rl. Compute it before finding surface area.
When a part is removed from a solid, subtract its volume. For surface area, remove the flat face it covered and add the curved surface of the cavity, e.g. a hemisphere scooped from a cylinder removes a circle of area π r² and adds 2π r².
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Important questions with answers
Try each on paper first, then reveal the model answer to check your method.
Multiple-choice questions (1 mark)
The total surface area of a solid hemisphere of radius 7 cm is:
- (a)
462 cm²
- (b)
308 cm²
- (c)
154 cm²
- (d)
231 cm²
Show model answer
Answer: (a) 462 cm²
TSA of a solid hemisphere =3π r²=3× 22/7× 49=462 cm².
The volume of the largest right circular cone that can be cut out of a cube of edge 4.2 cm is:
- (a)
19.404 cm³
- (b)
58.212 cm³
- (c)
9.702 cm³
- (d)
74.088 cm³
Show model answer
Answer: (a) 19.404 cm³
The largest cone has radius r=2.1 cm (half the edge) and height h=4.2 cm (the edge).
V=1/3π r²h=1/3× 22/7× 2.1²× 4.2=19.404 cm³.
The curved surface area of a cone of radius 7 cm and height 24 cm is:
- (a)
550 cm²
- (b)
704 cm²
- (c)
154 cm²
- (d)
275 cm²
Show model answer
Answer: (a) 550 cm²
l=√(7²+24²)=√625=25 cm. CSA =π rl=22/7× 7× 25=550 cm².
A hemispherical depression of diameter 7 cm is cut out of one face of a cubical block of edge 7 cm. The surface area of the remaining solid is:
- (a)
332.5 cm²
- (b)
294 cm²
- (c)
371 cm²
- (d)
255.5 cm²
Show model answer
Answer: (a) 332.5 cm²
The cut removes a flat circle of area π r² but exposes a curved hemisphere of area 2π r²:
SA=6a²-π r²+2π r²=6(49)+π r²=294+22/7× 3.5²=294+38.5=332.5 cm².
Assertion–Reason questions (1 mark)
Assertion (A): The total surface area of a solid hemisphere of radius r is 2π r².
Reason (R): The curved surface area of a hemisphere is 2π r².
- (a)
Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
- (b)
Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A
- (c)
A is true but R is false
- (d)
A is false but R is true
Show model answer
Answer: (d) A is false but R is true.
The curved surface area of a hemisphere is 2π r² (R is true), but its total surface area also includes the flat circular base, giving 2π r²+π r²=3π r²; hence A is false.
Very short answer questions (2 marks)
A cone and a cylinder have equal bases and equal heights. Write the ratio of their volumes. Also, if the volume of the cylinder is 360 cm³, find the volume of the cone.
Show model answer
(Volume of cone)/(Volume of cylinder)=1/3π r²hπ r²h=1/3, so the ratio is 1:3.
Volume of cone =1/3× 360=120 cm³.
Two cubes each of volume 64 cm³ are joined end to end. Find the surface area of the resulting cuboid.
Show model answer
Each cube has side =3√64=4 cm. The cuboid formed has dimensions 8× 4× 4 cm.
Surface area =2(lb+bh+hl)=2(8× 4+4× 4+4× 8)=2(32+16+32)=2× 80=160 cm².
Short answer questions (3 marks)
A toy is in the form of a cone mounted on a hemisphere of the same radius 3.5 cm. The total height of the toy is 15.5 cm. Find the total surface area of the toy.
Show model answer
Radius r=3.5 cm. Height of cone =15.5-3.5=12 cm.
Slant height l=√(r²+h²)=√(3.5²+12²)=√(12.25+144)=√156.25=12.5 cm.
TSA =CSA of cone+CSA of hemisphere=π rl+2π r²=π r(l+2r)
=22/7× 3.5×(12.5+7)=11× 19.5=214.5 cm².
A medicine capsule is in the shape of a cylinder with a hemisphere stuck to each of its ends. The length of the entire capsule is 14 mm and its diameter is 5 mm. Find its surface area.
Show model answer
Radius r=2.5 mm. Length of the cylindrical part h=14-2× 2.5=9 mm.
SA=CSA of cylinder+2× CSA of hemisphere=2π rh+4π r²=2π r(h+2r)
=2× 22/7× 2.5×(9+5)=220 mm².
A wooden pen stand is a cuboid 15 cm× 10 cm× 3.5 cm with four conical depressions to hold pens. Each depression has radius 0.5 cm and depth 1.4 cm. Find the volume of wood in the entire stand.
Show model answer
Volume of cuboid =15× 10× 3.5=525 cm³.
Volume of one conical depression =1/3× 22/7× 0.5²× 1.4=0.367 cm³ (to 3 d.p.), so four depressions =1.467 cm³.
Volume of wood =525-1.467=523.53 cm³.
Long answer questions (5 marks)
From a solid cylinder of height 2.4 cm and diameter 1.4 cm, a conical cavity of the same height and same diameter is hollowed out. Find (i) the total surface area and (ii) the volume of the remaining solid.
Show model answer
Radius r=0.7 cm, height h=2.4 cm, slant height l=√(0.7²+2.4²)=√(0.49+5.76)=√6.25=2.5 cm.
(i) TSA =CSA of cylinder+area of base+CSA of cone=2π rh+π r²+π rl=π r(2h+r+l)
=22/7× 0.7×(4.8+0.7+2.5)=2.2× 8.0=17.6 cm².
(ii) Volume =π r²h-1/3π r²h=2/3π r²h=2/3× 22/7× 0.49× 2.4=2.464 cm³.
A wooden article is made by scooping out a hemisphere from each end of a solid cylinder. The height of the cylinder is 10 cm and its base radius is 3.5 cm. Find (i) the total surface area and (ii) the volume of the article.
Show model answer
r=3.5 cm, h=10 cm.
(i) TSA =CSA of cylinder+2× CSA of hemisphere=2π rh+4π r²=2π r(h+2r)
=2× 22/7× 3.5×(10+7)=22× 17=374 cm².
(ii) Volume =π r²h-2× 2/3π r³=22/7× 12.25× 10-4/3× 22/7× 42.875
=385-179.67=205.33 cm³.
Case-based questions (4 marks)
A metal grain-silo is in the shape of a cylinder surmounted by a cone, as shown. The common radius is 1.5 m, the cylindrical part is 7 m high and the conical top is 2 m high.
(i) Find the slant height of the conical top.
(ii) Find the total volume of the silo.
(iii) Find the area of the metal sheet required to make the curved surfaces (cylinder and cone), ignoring the base.
Show model answer
(i) l=√(r²+h²)=√(1.5²+2²)=√(2.25+4)=√6.25=2.5 m.
(ii) Volume =π r²h_cyl+1/3π r²h_cone=22/7(1.5)²(7)+1/3· 22/7(1.5)²(2)
=49.5+4.71=54.21 m³.
(iii) Curved area =2π rh_cyl+π rl=2× 22/7× 1.5× 7+22/7× 1.5× 2.5=66+11.79=77.79 m².
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Frequently asked questions
What are the important questions in Surface Areas and Volumes Class 10?
Combined solids such as a toy (cone on hemisphere) or a capsule (cylinder with hemispherical ends), solids with parts scooped out, and the largest cone cut from a cube. This page has 13 questions with answers, including a pen stand with conical depressions and a grain-silo case study.How do you find the surface area of a combined solid?
Add only the surfaces you can touch from outside and leave out the faces where the parts join. For a cone on a hemisphere of the same radius that is the cone's curved surface π rl plus the hemisphere's 2π r². Volumes, by contrast, simply add.What happens to surface area when a hemisphere is scooped out of a solid?
Volume goes down, but surface area goes up: you lose a flat circle of area π r² and gain the hollow's curved surface 2π r², a net increase of π r². The 5-mark question on a cylinder with a hemisphere scooped from each end uses this twice.How do you remember the Surface Areas and Volumes formulas?
Learn them in families rather than as a list. A cone's volume is one third of the cylinder on the same base, a hemisphere is half a sphere plus a flat circle for its total surface, and every curved surface is π r times a length: 2h for a cylinder, l for a cone. Then practise on combined solids so you choose the right parts.Where can I find Surface Areas and Volumes Class 10 notes?
The Key concepts & formulas cards on this page are the chapter notes: the standard formulas, how to combine solids, the slant height l=√(r²+h²), and what changes when a part is scooped out. Exercises 12.1 and 12.2 are solved on the NCERT Solutions page for Chapter 12.Where can I get Surface Areas and Volumes extra questions?
This page has 13 beyond the textbook: a hemispherical hollow cut into a 7 cm cube, a toy cone on a hemisphere of radius 3.5 cm, a medicine capsule, a pen stand with four conical holes, a cylinder with a conical cavity, and a grain-silo case study. Work each one before opening the answer.Where can I practise Surface Areas and Volumes MCQs?
The first questions on this page are MCQs on a hemisphere's total surface, the largest cone cut from a 4.2 cm cube, a cone's curved surface and a cube with a hemispherical depression, plus an assertion–reason item. A free Classmate AI account adds timed quizzes on the chapter through Create Test.
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