Cube nets: will it fold into a cube?
For parents and teachers of children in Years 4 to 6. Your child looks at six squares joined together and decides whether they fold into a cube, or which square ends up opposite the ★. Then the page folds the net in 3D, so they can see why. Free, no sign-up.
How to use it with your child
- Choose Does it fold into a cube? for a mix of nets and shapes that look close but don't fold, or Which face is opposite ★? for nets only.
- Tap Start on this device and hand over the screen. Your child answers each net, then watches it fold: the sides close into a box, or two squares land on the same side.
- Any net they get wrong comes back at the end with Fix the ones you missed.
- Print sheet puts the same nets on paper, with the answers on a second page. Print all 11 nets to cut out gives the 11 cube nets with glue tabs, two to a page, for folding real cubes.
Which school years it suits
Cube nets are taught in Year 4 in Japan (小4, 立方体と直方体) and in Year 5 in Korea (초5, 직육면체) and Taiwan (五年級). The opposite-face questions also suit older children who are practising spatial reasoning.
Why there are exactly 11
There are 35 different ways to join six squares edge to edge (not counting turned or flipped copies). Only 11 of them fold into a cube. Shapes with four squares in a 2 × 2 block never fold, and shapes like a row of five squares leave one side open.
Pencilhop finds each answer by rolling an imaginary cube across the squares: if all six squares meet a different side of the cube, the net folds. The page never guesses.
A quick check your child can use
In a net, two squares in a straight row with exactly one square between them always end up opposite each other. Once your child spots that, the opposite-face questions get much quicker.
Ready-made links
Questions parents ask
How many nets of a cube are there?
Eleven. Pencilhop shows all 11 on the cut-out sheet, and the practice mixes them with shapes that look similar but don't fold.
Does turning a net over make a new net?
No. A net turned round or flipped over is the same net, which is why the answer is 11 and not more. On screen the nets appear turned different ways, so your child learns to recognise them from any side.
Can we fold real cubes?
Yes. Print all 11 nets to cut out prints each net large, with a grey glue tab on one edge of every pair that meets. Thin card works best.