Geometry & measures · Perimeter, area & volume
Chapter 1 · 3
The idea
Plans and elevations (views of 3D solids)
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Geometry & measures · Perimeter, area & volume
Plans and elevations (views of 3D solids)
Draw a 3D solid as three flat views: the plan from above, the front elevation and the side elevation. Draw each one square-on and true to size, use the lengths the views share (and the volume) to draw a missing view, see why a sloping face looks shorter than it is, record a model of cubes as a plan with numbers, explain the mistake in a wrong view, and work out the greatest and least number of cubes that two views allow.
Why it works
One drawing hides things
Leo is designing a skate park. He builds a model from centimetre cubes and sends his friend Ava this drawing of it.Ava counts the cubes she can see and gets . The ninth cube is hidden behind the tall block. A single 3D drawing always hides something, so architects and builders draw a solid as three flat views, each one looked at straight on:- the plan, the view from directly above;
- the front elevation, the view from the front;
- the side elevation, the view from the side.
Keep reading — free
The rest of the explanation, plus 4 worked examples you step through move by move.
Start freeTakes a minute — no card.