Sphere (3D) — free printable diagram

What a sphere is, and how to count it

A sphere is a 3D solid that has no flat faces, 0 edges and 0 vertices. Part of its surface is curved, so it is not a polyhedron and it is counted differently from a cube or a prism — which is also why Euler's formula does not apply to it.

Solid

Sphere

Surfaces

1 curved surface, no flat faces

Flat faces

0

Edges

0

Vertices (corners)

0

Is it a polyhedron?

No — it has a curved surface

Volume

V = ⁴⁄₃πr³

Surface area

SA = 4πr²

• Every point on the surface is exactly the same distance — the radius — from the centre. That single property is the whole definition.
• It has no edges and no vertices at all, which makes it the cleanest answer to “name a solid with no vertices”.
• A circle and a sphere are not the same thing: a circle is flat and 2D, a sphere is solid and 3D. A ball is a sphere; a drawn ring is a circle.