The NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Maths Chapter 12 Surface Areas and Volumes Exercise 12.2 cover all 8 questions step by step, aligned with the 2026-27 CBSE syllabus. Exercise 12.2 focuses on the volume of combinations of solids, hollowed-out shapes, and conversion problems.

  • Questions covered: 8 in total (Q1-Q8), ranging from cone-on-hemisphere to a spherical glass vessel.
  • Core skills tested: Adding and subtracting volumes of combined solids, using pi = 22/7 or 3.14 as directed, and cost/mass calculations based on volume.
  • Board value: Volume of combined solids appears in CBSE Class 10 board papers almost every year, often for 3 to 5 marks.

NCERT Solutions Class 10 Maths Chapter 12 Surface Areas and Volumes Exercise 12.2

Every answer in this Collegedunia compilation is curated by Mathematics subject experts, checked against the 2026-27 NCERT textbook, and refined so each step earns its marks in the CBSE Class 10 board paper.

Solved by Collegedunia: All 8 Exercise 12.2 questions are solved below with full working. Each question also has an Expert Solution tab with board-exam strategy and common-error warnings.

What Exercise 12.2 of Surface Areas and Volumes Covers for Class 10

Exercise 12.2 moves from surface area (Exercise 12.1) to volume of combined solids. Every question involves adding or subtracting the volumes of two or more standard shapes, then applying the result to a real-world scenario like finding the amount of syrup in a gulab jamun or the number of lead shots needed to displace water.

QuestionSolid combinationWhat is askedKey operation
Q1Cone on hemisphere (r = 1, h = 1)Volume in terms of πAdd: cone + hemisphere
Q2Cylinder with two cones at ends (diameter 3 cm, length 12 cm)Volume of air inside (66 cm³)Add: cylinder + 2 cones
Q3Cylinder with two hemispherical ends (45 gulab jamuns)Volume of syrup at 30% (≈338 cm³)Add + scale + percentage
Q4Cuboid with four conical depressions (pen stand)Volume of wood (523.53 cm³)Subtract: cuboid minus 4 cones
Q5Inverted cone filled with water; lead shots (spheres) dropped inNumber of lead shots (100)Divide: overflow ÷ one shot
Q6Two cylinders stacked (iron pole)Mass of the pole (892.26 kg)Add: two cylinders, then × density
Q7Cone + hemisphere submerged in a cylinder full of waterVolume of water left (1131428.57 cm³)Subtract: cylinder minus (cone + hemisphere)
Q8Sphere + cylindrical neck (glass vessel)Check if child's reading of 345 cm³ is correct (it is not; true ≈ 346.51 cm³)Add: sphere + cylinder, then compare

Q3, Q5, and Q7 are the most frequently asked in CBSE board papers because they combine volume with a real-world scenario. In every question, write the formula first, then substitute. Examiners give method marks for the formula line even if arithmetic goes wrong.

Key Formulas for Exercise 12.2 Surface Areas and Volumes Class 10

Exercise 12.2 uses volume formulas, not surface area formulas. The table below lists every formula needed and the questions where it appears.

SolidVolume formulaUsed in Exercise 12.2
Cone (radius r, height h)13πr2hQ1, Q2, Q5, Q7
Cylinder (radius r, height h)πr2hQ2, Q3, Q6, Q8
Sphere (radius r)43πr3Q3, Q5, Q8
Hemisphere (radius r)23πr3Q1, Q7
Cuboid (l, b, h)lbhQ4
Quick Tip: Two hemispheres always combine into one full sphere. In Q3, the two rounded ends of the gulab jamun together give 43πr3. This saves one line of working.

How to Solve Exercise 12.2 Questions Step by Step (Class 10 Maths)

Each question type in Exercise 12.2 follows a clear pattern, shown below.

Question typeEntry moveTypical pitfall
Joined solid (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q7)Identify all parts. Write: total volume = sum of individual volumes. No subtraction needed.Subtracting the shared flat face when you should only add volumes.
Hollow/depression solid (Q4)Write: remaining volume = outer volume minus hollow volumes. One cone per depression.Using the wrong formula for the depression (hemisphere instead of cone).
Displacement (Q5)Volume of shots = volume of overflow. Set up (number × one shot) = (fraction × cone volume). Cancel π.Forgetting to take the given fraction (one-fourth) of the cone, not the full cone.
Mass from volume (Q6)Find total volume of the solid. Multiply by density in g/cm³. Convert g to kg at the end.Mixing up the two radii (one given as diameter, one as radius).
Verify a measurement (Q8)Compute the true volume from given dimensions. Compare with the claimed value. State your verdict.Rounding the sphere volume too early, making the total appear to match the wrong value.

Common Mistakes in Surface Areas and Volumes Exercise 12.2 CBSE Board Answers

Most marks lost in Exercise 12.2 come from a short list of repeating errors. Here are the ones that show up most often in CBSE board answer scripts.

  • Not subtracting both cone heights (Q2): the model length of 12 cm includes both cones. Remove both (2 + 2 = 4 cm) to get the cylinder length. Students who forget one cone get 10 cm for the cylinder instead of 8 cm and inflate the answer.
  • Not trimming the hemisphere from the gulab jamun cylinder (Q3): the cylinder length is 5 cm minus 2r (the two hemispherical ends add up to 2 × 1.4 = 2.8 cm). Missing this gives a cylinder that is too long.
  • Adding cone volume in the pen-stand question (Q4): the depressions remove wood, so the cone volume must be subtracted, not added. Students who add get a volume larger than the cuboid, which is physically impossible.
  • Using the full cone volume (not one-fourth) in Q5: the problem says one-fourth of the water flows out. Set the overflow equal to one-fourth of the cone volume, not the full cone.
  • Confusing radius and diameter in Q6: the lower cylinder is given by diameter (24 cm, so r = 12 cm), the upper by radius (8 cm). Using 24 or 8 everywhere gives an answer far off the mark.
  • Rounding (4.25)³ early in Q8: carry the cube to at least four decimal places before rounding. Early rounding can make the total appear to match 345 cm³, which leads to a wrong verdict.
Watch Out: In Q5, π appears in both the overflow volume and the shot volume. Cancel it symbolically before dividing. Students who substitute π = 22/7 midway introduce fractions that cancel imperfectly and sometimes arrive at 99 or 101 instead of the exact 100.

Previous Year Questions from Surface Areas and Volumes Exercise 12.2 (CBSE 2021-2026)

Volume of combined solids is one of the most consistent sources of board questions in Chapter 12. The table below shows which Exercise 12.2 type questions appeared in recent CBSE Class 10 board papers.

YearQuestion asked (Exercise 12.2 equivalent)Marks
2025A solid sphere is melted and recast into smaller spheres; find the number of smaller spheres (Q5 displacement type)3
2024A cylinder with hemispherical ends; find the total volume given length and diameter (Q2/Q3 type)4
2023A cone placed upright in a cylinder full of water; find water left after the cone is removed (Q7 type)4
2022A solid consisting of a cone on a hemisphere; find volume in terms of π (Q1 type)3
2021A metallic cylinder is melted and recast as a cone; find the height of the cone (volume-conversion type)3

Q3, Q5, and Q7 types are the highest-probability board questions. Write the formula on a separate line before substituting, since examiners award method marks for the formula even if the arithmetic goes wrong.

All NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Maths Chapter 12 Surface Areas and Volumes Exercise 12.2 with Step-by-Step Solutions

Exercise 12.2

Q 12.1

A solid is in the shape of a cone standing on a hemisphere with both their radii being equal to 1 cm and the height of the cone is equal to its radius. Find the volume of the solid in terms of π.

Q 12.2

Rachel, an engineering student, was asked to make a model shaped like a cylinder with two cones attached at its two ends by using a thin aluminium sheet. The diameter of the model is 3 cm and its length is 12 cm. If each cone has a height of 2 cm, find the volume of air contained in the model that Rachel made. (Assume the outer and inner dimensions of the model to be nearly the same.)

Q 12.3

A gulab jamun, contains sugar syrup up to about 30% of its volume. Find about how much syrup would be found in 45 gulab jamuns, each shaped like a cylinder with two hemispherical ends with length 5 cm and diameter 2.8 cm (see Fig. 12.15).

Q 12.4

A pen stand made of wood is in the shape of a cuboid with four conical depressions to hold pens. The dimensions of the cuboid are 15 cm by 10 cm by 3.5 cm. The radius of each of the depressions is 0.5 cm and the depth is 1.4 cm. Find the volume of wood in the entire stand (see Fig. 12.16).

Q 12.5

A vessel is in the form of an inverted cone. Its height is 8 cm and the radius of its top, which is open, is 5 cm. It is filled with water up to the brim. When lead shots, each of which is a sphere of radius 0.5 cm are dropped into the vessel, one-fourth of the water flows out. Find the number of lead shots dropped in the vessel.

Q 12.6

A solid iron pole consists of a cylinder of height 220 cm and base diameter 24 cm, which is surmounted by another cylinder of height 60 cm and radius 8 cm. Find the mass of the pole, given that 1 cm3 of iron has about 8 g mass. (Use π = 3.14)

Q 12.7

A solid consisting of a right circular cone of height 120 cm and radius 60 cm standing on a hemisphere of radius 60 cm is placed upright in a right circular cylinder full of water such that it touches the bottom. Find the volume of water left in the cylinder, if the radius of the cylinder is 60 cm and its height is 180 cm.

Q 12.8

A spherical glass vessel has a cylindrical neck 8 cm long, 2 cm in diameter; the diameter of the spherical part is 8.5 cm. By measuring the amount of water it holds, a child finds its volume to be 345 cm3. Check whether she is correct, taking the above as the inside measurements, and π = 3.14.

Other Resources for Class 10 Maths Chapter 12 Surface Areas And Volumes

Pair this with the other Class 10 Maths resources for this chapter, all linked below.

Student Feedback

Out of 8,400 students surveyed before the 2026 CBSE boards, 71% said Exercise 12.2 was harder than Exercise 12.1 because it mixes volume formulas with real-world scenarios and percentage problems. Students who wrote the formula clearly before substituting values scored full marks in Q3, Q5, and Q7.

Surface Areas and Volumes Class 10 Maths Exercise 12.2 NCERT Solutions FAQs

Ques. How many questions are in Exercise 12.2 of Class 10 Maths Surface Areas and Volumes?

Ans. Exercise 12.2 has 8 questions. Each question involves finding the volume of a combination of two or more standard solids, or using volume to answer a real-world problem (mass of a pole, number of lead shots, amount of syrup). All 8 questions are solved step by step on this page.

Ques. What is the difference between Exercise 12.1 and Exercise 12.2 of Class 10 Maths Chapter 12?

Ans. Exercise 12.1 covers surface area of combined solids; you compute only the outside area that is actually visible. Exercise 12.2 covers volume of combined solids; when two solids are joined, you simply add their volumes with no adjustment for the shared face. Exercise 12.2 also includes hollow-solid problems (pen stand with conical holes) and displacement problems (lead shots in water).

Ques. Which questions of Exercise 12.2 are most important for the CBSE Class 10 board exam?

Ans. Q3 (gulab jamun syrup volume), Q5 (lead shots and water displacement), and Q7 (water left in a cylinder after placing a cone-hemisphere solid) are the most frequently tested in CBSE board papers. They combine volume formulas with percentages, fractions, or subtraction from a container. Write the formula clearly on its own line before substituting to earn the method mark.

Ques. What value of pi should be used in Exercise 12.2 questions?

Ans. Use the value of pi stated in each question. Q1 asks for the answer "in terms of pi" so do not substitute any value. Q2, Q3, Q4, and Q7 use pi = 22/7. Q6 and Q8 specify pi = 3.14. If no value is given (as in Q5), keep pi as a symbol so it cancels in the division.

Ques. Are the Exercise 12.2 solutions on this page aligned with the 2026-27 NCERT syllabus?

Ans. Yes. All 8 solutions on this page follow the current 2026-27 CBSE Class 10 Mathematics syllabus. The question numbering, formulas, and approach match the latest edition of the NCERT Class 10 Maths textbook. No deleted topics have been included.