Volume of Triangular Prisms and Pyramids
Reading Strategies: Build Vocabulary
To solve volume problems with triangular prisms and pyramids, it is helpful to know and use the vocabulary words that refer to the parts of the figures. Notice that both figures have base heights and heights for the figure as
a whole.
Triangular Prisms:
The base length and the base height are used to compute the area of the triangular base, B:
B = 1/2 * base height * base length
The prism length is used to compute the
prism volume, Vprism:
Vprism = B * prism length
Triangular Pyramids
The base length and the base height are used to compute the area of the triangular base, B:
B = 1/2 * base height * base length
The pyramid height is used to compute the pyramid volume, Vpyramid:
Vpyramid = 1/3 * B * pyramid height
Calculate the parts and compute the volume.
The triangular base of a prism is 10 feet wide and has a height that is half of that. The length of the prism is 4 feet more than the width of its base. Include the units.
The triangular base of a pyramid has a width that is half of the pyramid height. The pyramid height is four times the height of the base which is 3 meters.
