One side of a triangle is 5 cm and its corresponding height is 15 cm. The triangle is the base of a triangular prism with height 5 cm. What is the volume of the prism?

Question

One side of a triangle is 5 cm and its corresponding height is 15 cm.  The triangle is the base of a triangular prism with height 5 cm.  What is the volume of the prism?

mathstudent55 · Answer

The volume of a prism is
V = (1/3)Ah
where A = area of teh base, and h = height

First, find the area of the base. You are told it's a triangle with side 15 cm and height 5 cm. Using the formula for the area of a triangle, that will give you the area of the base.

Then the height of the prism is 5 cm. Use the formula for the volume of the prism using the area of the base and the 5-cm height you are given.