Volumes of prisms

Question 2

Which of the following shows how the volume of this triangular prism could be calculated? 

	Not to scale
a \(\dfrac{1}{2}\) × 30 × 40 × 80
b \(\dfrac{1}{2}\) × 40 × 50 × 80
c \(\dfrac{1}{2}\) × 30 × 50 × 80
d \(\dfrac{1}{2}\) × 30 × 40 × 50 × 80

Solution

First, work out the area of the base of the triangle.

Area of the triangle	= \(\dfrac{1}{2}\)bh
	= \(\dfrac{1}{2}\)× 40 × 30
	= 600 cm².

Once the area of the base has been found we can multiply this by its height to find the volume.

Volume of a triangular prism	= Area of base × height
	= \(\dfrac{1}{2}\) × 40 × 30 × 80.

The volume of this triangular prism can be calculated by a \(\dfrac{1}{2}\) × 30 × 40 × 80

Volumes of prisms

Question 3