# Volume of a Prism

Consider the right prism as shown in the figure below. There are as many cubic units in each layer parallel to the base $ABCD$ as there are square units in the area of the base. Also, there are as many layers of cubic units in the prism as there are linear units in the altitudes $h$. We can, therefore, find the total number of cubic units in the prism by multiplying the area of the base by the altitude.

Volume of the prism $=$ Area of the base $\times$ Height of the prism

Rule: The volume of the prism equals its base times its altitude.

Example:

The base of a right prism is an equilateral triangle with a side of $4$ cm and its height is $25$ cm. Find its volume.

Solution:
Volume

Since the base is an equilateral triangle:
$\therefore {\text{Area}} = \frac{{\sqrt 3 }}{4}{\left( {{\text{one side}}} \right)^2} = \frac{{\sqrt 3 }}{4}{\left( 4 \right)^2} = 4\sqrt 3 = 6.92$ cm
$h = 25$ cm
$\therefore V = {\text{Area }} \times {\text{ Height}} = 6.25 \times 25 = 173.20$ cubic cm

Example:

The sides of a triangular prism are $17$ cm, $25$ cm and $28$ cm respectively. The volume of the prism is $4200$ cubic cm. What is its height?

Solution:

Now, $A = \sqrt {s\left( {s - a} \right)\left( {s - b} \right)\left( {s - c} \right)}$

$\therefore A = \sqrt {35\left( {35 - 17} \right)\left( {35 - 25} \right)\left( {35 - 28} \right)} = \sqrt {35 \times 18 \times 10 \times 7} = 210$ square cm