Interactive tools can really help students understand surface area and volume in 9th-grade geometry. Here are some ways to use these tools:

1. Visual Simulations: You can use programs like GeoGebra to see 3D shapes, such as cylinders, cones, and cubes. This helps you understand what dimensions look like.

2. Dynamic Calculators: These tools can quickly find surface areas and volumes as you change the sizes of the shapes. This shows how length, width, and height work together with their areas.

3. Word Problem Generators: Some interactive programs can make up word problems for you, which gives you practice in real-life situations. For example, you can find the surface area of a prism with a base area of $A$ and height $H$ using the formula $SA = 2A + PH$, where $P$ is the perimeter.

Using these tools might help you solve problems 30% faster, according to some educational studies.