Surfaces and Solids

I. PRISMS, AREA, AND VOLUME

Julie Cristine Q. Doleguez

PRISMS
Suppose that two congruent polygons lie in parallel planes in such a way that
their corresponding sides are parallel.

If the corresponding vertices of these polygons [such

as A and A′ in Figure 1(a)] are joined by line
segments, then the “solid” or “space figure” that
results is known as a prism.

The congruent figures that lie in the parallel planes are

the bases of the prism. The parallel planes need not
be shown in the drawings of prisms.
PRISMS

In this figure 1(a) and are base edges of the prism,

while , and are lateral edges of the prism. Because
the lateral edges of this prism are perpendicular to its
base edges, the lateral faces (such as quadrilateral )
are rectangles. The bases and lateral faces are known
collectively as the faces of the prism.

Any point at which three faces are concurrent is a

vertex of the prism. Points A, B, C, , , and are the
vertices of the prism.
PRISMS
In this figure 1(b), the lateral edges of the prism are
not perpendicular to its base edges; with respect to
the base edges, the lateral edges are often described
as oblique (slanted).

For the oblique prism, the lateral faces are

parallelograms. Considering the prisms in figure (a),
we are led to the following definitions.

A right prism is a prism in which the lateral edges are

perpendicular to the base edges at their points of
intersection. An oblique prism is a prism in which the
parallel lateral edges are oblique to the base edges at their
points of intersection.
PRISMS

Figure 1

Part of the description used to classify a prism depends on its base. For instance, the prism
in Figure 1(a) is a right triangular prism; in this case, the word right describes the
prism, whereas the word triangular refers to the triangular base. Similarly, the prism in
Figure 1(b) is an oblique square prism. Both prisms in Figure 1 have an altitude (a
perpendicular segment between the planes that contain the bases) of length h, also known
as the height of the prism.
EXAMPLE 1
Name each type of prism.

a) The lateral edges are perpendicular to the base edges of the hexagonal base. The prism is a
right hexagonal prism.
b) The lateral edges are oblique to the base edges of the pentagonal base. The prism is an
oblique pentagonal prism.
c) The lateral edges are perpendicular to the base edges of the triangular base. Because the base
is equilateral, the prism is a right equilateral triangular prism.
AREA OF A PRISM
The lateral area L of a prism is the sum of the areas of all lateral faces.
In the right triangular prism of figure 2, a, b, and c are the
lengths of the sides of either base. These dimensions are
used along with the length of the altitude (denoted by h)
to calculate the lateral area, the sum of the areas of
rectangles , , and . The lateral area L of the right
triangular prism can be found as follows:

L = ah + bh + ch
= h (a + b + c)
= h (P)

where P is the perimeter of a base of the prism. This

formula, L= hP , is valid for finding the lateral area of any
right prism. Although lateral faces of an oblique prism are
parallelograms, it is easy to show that the formula L= hP
Figure 2 can be used to find its lateral area as well.
AREA OF A PRISM
Theorem 1: The lateral area L of any prism whose altitude has measure h
and whose base has perimeter P is given by L= hP .

EXAMPLE 2
The bases of the right prism shown in Figure 3 are equilateral
pentagons with sides of length 3 in. each. If the altitude measures
5 in., find the lateral area of the prism.

Solution:
L= hP
L = 5 in. x 15 in. = 75 in2
or
Each lateral face is a rectangle with dimensions 3 in. by 5 in. The
area of each rectangular face is 3 in. x 5 in. = 15 in2. Because
there are five congruent lateral faces, the lateral area of the
Figure 3 pentagonal prism is 5 x 15 in2 = 75 in2.
For any prism, the total area T is the sum of the lateral area and
the areas of the bases.

 The total area of the prism is also

known as its surface area.
 Recall that the bases and the
lateral faces are known as
faces of a prism.
 Thus, the total area T of the
prism is the sum of the areas of
all its faces.
Figure 3
Theorem 2: The total area T of any prism with lateral area L and
base area B is given by T = L + 2B.

Picture Proof of Theorem 2:

Given: The pentagonal prism of Figure
4(a)

Prove: T = L + 2B

Proof: When the prism is “taken apart”

and laid flat, as shown in Figure 4(b),
we see that the total area depends upon
the lateral area (shaded darker) and the
areas of the two bases (shaded lighter);
that is,
Figure 4
T = L + 2B.
 In Heron’s Formula, the base area B of the right triangular prism in Figure 4
can be found by the formula
in which s is the semiperimeter of the triangular base.

Solution:
The lateral area is found by adding the areas of the three
rectangular lateral faces. That is,
L = 8 in x 13 in + 8 in x 14 in + 8 in x 15 in
= 104 in2 + 112 in2 + 120 in2 = 336 in2
Using Heron’s Formula to find the area of each base,

= 21
Figure 5
EXAMPLE 3 B = 84
Find the total area of the right Calculating the total area (or surface area) of the
triangular prism with an altitude of triangular prism,
length 8 in. if the sides of the T = L + 2B T = 336 + 2(84) or T = 504 in2
triangular bases have lengths of 13
in., 14 in., and 15 in. See Figure 5.
 A regular prism is a right prism whose bases are regular polygons

In the following example, each base of the prism is a regular hexagon.

Because this regular hexagonal prism is a right prism, the lateral faces are
congruent rectangles.
EXAMPLE 4
Find the lateral area L and the surface area T of the regular hexagonal prism in Figure 6(a).

Figure 6
Solution for Example 4:
In figure 6A, there are six congruent lateral faces, each rectangular with dimensions of 4 in. by
10 in. Then
L = 6 (4 x 10)
= 240 in2
For the regular hexagonal base (see Figure 6B), the apothem measures , and the perimeter is
P = 6 x 4 = 24 in. Then the area B of each base is given by the formula for the area of a
regular polygon.

= x x 24
=
T = L + 2B
= (240 + 48) in2
=323.14 in2
EXAMPLE 5
The total area of the right square prism in Figure 7 is 210 cm2. Find the length of a side of the
square base if the altitude of the prism is 8 cm.

Let be the length in cm of a side of a square. Then the

area of the base is B = and the area of each of the four
lateral faces is .
T = L + 2B

210 =
210 = 32 + 2
0 = 32 + 2 - 210
0 = 16 + - 105 (dividing by 2)
0 = ( (factoring)
or
or (reject -21 as a solution)

Then each side of the square base measures 5 cm.

Figure 7
A cube is a right square prism whose edges are congruent.

 The cube is very important in determining the volume of a solid.

We recognize that a prism encloses a portion of space.
Without a formal definition, we say that the volume of
the solid is a number that measures the amount of
enclosed space. To begin, we need a unit for measuring
volume. Just as the meter can be used to measure
length and the square yard can be used to measure
area, a cubic unit is used to measure the amount of
space enclosed within a bounded region of space.

The volume enclosed by the cube shown in Figure 8 is 1

cubic inch or 1 in3. The volume of a solid is the
number of cubic units within the solid. Thus, we
assume that the volume of any solid is a positive
number of cubic units.
Figure 8
Postulate 1: Volume Postulate
Corresponding to every solid is a unique positive number V known as the
volume of that solid.
The simplest space figure for which we
can determine volume is the right
rectangular prism. Such a solid
might be described as a
parallelpiped or as a “box.”

Because boxes are used as containers

for storage and shipping (such as a
boxcar), it is important to calculate
volume as a measure of capacity. A
Figure 9
right rectangular prism is shown in
Figure 9; its dimensions are length ,
width w, and height h.
 The volume of a right rectangular prism
of length 4 cm., width 3 cm., and height
2 cm. is easily shown to be 24 cm3. The
volume is the product of the three
dimensions of the given solid. We see
not only that but also that the units of
Figure 9
volume are cm x cm x cm.
Figures 10(a) and (b) illustrate that the 4 by 3 by 2 box must have the volume 24 cm 3 . We see
that there are four layers of blocks, each of which is a 2 by 3 configuration of 6 cm 3. Figure 11
provides the insight that leads us to our following postulate.

Figure 10

Postulate 2: Volume Postulate

The volume of a right rectangular prism is given by
V = ℓwh
where ℓ measures the length, w the width, and h the altitude of the prism.
EXAMPLE 6
Find the volume of a box whose dimensions are 1 ft, 8 in., and 10 in. (See
Figure 11)
Length is the longest dimension of an object. It
describes the entity of an object, irrespective of the
dimensions. It is usually measured along the X –
axis, which is a horizontal extent.

Height is defined as the measurement of the

distance of an object from the base to the top. It
measures the vertical distance from the lowest to
the highest point. In general, it is the measurement
along the y-axis of an object in the coordinate
geometry.

Figure 11 Width is known as the breadth. It is the distance

from one side to the other side which measures
across a particular shape or object whose lengths
are forming right angles with the sides as in the
case of a rectangle.
EXAMPLE 6
Find the volume of a box whose dimensions are 1 ft, 8 in., and 10 in. (See
Figure 11)
Solution:
It is most important that the units of measure be the
same. Thus, 1 ft is replaced by 12 in. in the formula
for volume:
V = ℓwh
= 8 in. x 12 in. x 10 in.
= 960 in3

Note that the formula for the volume of the right

rectangular prism, V = ℓwh, could be replaced by the
Figure 11 formula V= Bh, where B is the area of the base of
the prism; for a rectangular prism, B = ℓw. As stated
in the following postulate, this volume relationship is
true for right prisms in general.
Postulate 3: Volume Postulate
The volume of a right prism is given by
V = Bh
where B is the area of a base and h is the length of the altitude of the prism.

In real-world applications, the formula is valid for calculating the volumes of

oblique prisms as well as right prisms.

Example 7
Find the volume of the regular
hexagonal prism found in Figure 6.
EXAMPLE 7. Find the volume of the regular hexagonal prism found in Figure 6.

Solution:
In Example 4, we found that the
area of the hexagonal base was
in2. Because the altitude of the
hexagonal prism is 10 in., the
volume is
V= Bh
= 24√3 in2 (10 in.)
V= 240 √3 in3 in3.

Figure 6
B=
Just as x2 (x) = x3, the units in Example 7 are
B=
in2 (in.) = in3
 In the final example of this section, we use
the fact that 1 yd3 = 27 ft3. In the cube
shown in Figure 12, each dimension
measures 1 yd, or 3 ft. The cube’s volume is
given by 1 yd x 1 yd x 1 yd = 1 yd3 or 3 ft x 3
ft x 3 ft = 27 ft3. It follows that 1 yd3 = 27 ft3
or 1 ft3 = yd3.
Figure 12
EXAMPLE 8. Sarah is having a concrete driveway poured at her
house. The section to be poured is rectangular, measuring 12 ft by
40 ft by 4 in. deep. How many cubic yards of concrete are needed?
Solution:
Using V = ℓwh, we must be consistent with units. Thus, ℓ = 12 ft,
w = 40 ft, and h = ft (from 4 in.).
V = 12 ft x 40 ft x ft
V = 160 ft3

Now 160 ft3 = 160 ( yd3) = yd3 or yd3

Sarah will be charged for of concrete 6 yd3, the result of rounding

upward.
Volume and Area Relationships for Solids
Volume and Area Relationships for Solids
(continuation)
THANK YOU