The Volume of a Prism

The volume of a prism can be found by first finding the area of the cross-section, then multiplying the cross-section by the length of a prism.

In this prism, the red areas are the cross sections.

Take for example this question.

The cross section is the square with sides 20 cm. The area of this square is 20 cm x 20 cm = 400 cm². The volume of the cuboid is thus 400 x 40 = 16000 cm³.

Take a more challenging question.

The cross section here is the triangle. The area of the triangle is 0.5 x 8 cm x 15 cm = 60 cm². The volume of the prism is 60 x 10 = 600 cm³.

Try this question.