Cube Nets Puzzles
A net is a cube cut open and laid flat. Fold it back in your head and pick the cube it makes.
Practice
Which cube can be folded from this net?
Pick A, B, C or D.
How to fold a net in your head
- Pick a base. Imagine one square lying on the table. The squares touching it fold up to become its sides.
- Find the opposite pairs. In any straight row of three squares, the ends are opposite. Opposite faces can never be seen together on a cube.
- Follow one symbol. As a square folds up, the edge it shares with its neighbour stays joined. Track which way its symbol points relative to that shared edge.
- Check the options. Rule out any cube that shows two opposite faces, then any with a symbol turned the wrong way.
The 11 nets of a cube
Every cube can be unfolded into one of these eleven shapes. Learning to spot them makes net questions much faster.
Cube net questions
How many nets does a cube have?
Eleven. Every other arrangement of six squares either overlaps when folded or leaves a face open. Mirror images and turned copies of the same net are not counted twice.
How can I tell which faces are opposite?
In a straight row of three squares, the first and third end up opposite each other. Faces that share an edge in the net, or meet at a corner when folded, end up next to each other.
Why do the symbols matter?
Each symbol points a certain way, so the answer depends on how the net folds, not just which faces are next to each other. Wrong options may show two opposite faces side by side, or a symbol turned the wrong way.
Are cube net questions in aptitude tests?
Yes. Folding a net in your head is a common spatial visualization question in aptitude, IQ and school entrance tests.
More 3D practice: counting cubes, mental rotation and the 3D puzzle game.