Cube Nets: All 11 Shapes and How to Recognise Them

A cube net is an arrangement of six squares that folds into a cube. There are exactly 11 different ones, no more and no fewer. The topic is taught in Year 5 as part of solid shapes.

Why Six Squares

A cube has 6 identical square faces, 12 edges and 8 vertices. A net is a cube "unfolded", so it always consists of 6 squares joined along their edges.

Note though: not every arrangement of six squares folds into a cube. Of the 35 possible arrangements, only 11 work.

The 11 Nets, Grouped by Pattern

This is far easier than memorising eleven separate pictures. All eleven fall into four patterns based on their row structure:

The 1–4–1 pattern is the largest group: four squares wrap around the body of the cube, one becomes the base and one the lid. The six variations come from placing the top and bottom squares at different points along the row.

How to Check One Without Memorising

Exam questions usually show four pictures and ask which is not a cube net. Two rules settle almost every case:

Rule 1 — no 2×2 block. If four squares form a 2×2 block, the arrangement is definitely not a cube net. When folded, two squares land on the same face and one face of the cube is left empty.

Rule 2 — no five squares in a straight row. Four is the maximum in one row, because four is what wraps around the cube's body. A fifth square would overlap the first.

Both checks take three seconds by eye, with no mental folding at all. A child who knows them stops guessing.

Opposite Faces

The usual follow-up question: "if the face marked A is the base, which face becomes the lid?"

The key: two opposite faces of a cube are never adjacent in the net. In a 1–4–1 net, along the row of four, opposite faces are always two steps apart. Square 1 faces square 3, and square 2 faces square 4.

Nets of Other Solids

• Cuboid — also has 11 net patterns, exactly like a cube, only the rectangles differ in size. See cuboid nets.
• Cylinder — two circles and one rectangle.
• Cone — one circle and one sector.
• Square-based pyramid — one square and four triangles.

The Mistakes That Actually Cost Marks

1. Thinking there are 6 nets, or infinitely many. The answer is exactly 11, and that number is often asked directly.

2. Counting the same net twice. Nets that are merely rotated or mirrored count as one. That is why the total is 11 and not higher.

3. Accepting an arrangement containing a 2×2 block. The most frequent trap in multiple-choice questions.

4. Guessing by imagining the fold. Visualising in three dimensions is slow and unreliable. The two rules above are far more dependable — and they train a child to look for a rule rather than trust intuition, exactly the habit programming requires.

5. Forgetting that base and lid must be separated. Two adjacent squares can never be opposite faces.