Why is it that large objects have a smaller surface area as compared to small objects which have a larger surface area?

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Why is it that large objects have a smaller surface area as compared to small objects which have a larger surface area?

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4 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

To be clear, large objects have a smaller surface area **in proportion to their volume** than smaller objects. They usually still have a larger surface area.

All that is a consequence of the *cube-square law*, a fancy way of saying that volume increases faster than surface area. Imagine a cube with a side *n*, its volume is *n*^(3) its surface area is 6*n*^(2). When *n* = 1, volume is 1, surface area is 6, *n* = 2, volume = 8, surface area = 24. The ratio has gone from 1:6 to 1:3. When *n* = 6, volume = 216, surface area = 216, the same. At *n* = 10, volume = 1000, surface area = 600, now volume is bigger.

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