document.write( "Question 540782: A prism with a triangular base with the edges of lengths 6,8, and 10 cm has a volume of 360cubic centimeters, what is the height?! Please help... I know that V=.5Ah but dont know how to answer it! Thank you :) \n" ); document.write( "
Algebra.Com's Answer #353888 by KMST(5328)![]() ![]() You can put this solution on YOUR website! I do not quite like your V=0.5Ah formula, but that's not your biggest problem. \n" ); document.write( "Your biggest problem is that you need to find the area of that triangular base. \n" ); document.write( "At first sight it looks like it will involve some complex calculations. \n" ); document.write( "However, I'm guessing that you are not deemed ready for those yet, because it is a very special triangle. If you try Pythagoras theorem's formula you realize that it is a right triangle. Better yet, if you know that (3,4,5) is the most popular Pythagorean triple, you realize that your triangle is similar to a triangle with sides measuring 3, 4, and 5. It is just a scaled up version. So the 10 cm side is the hypotenuse and the other two sides, being perpendicular, can be considered base and height of that triangle. \n" ); document.write( "The area of a triangle is one half the product of base times height. In this case, it would be (in square centimeters) A=(1/2)6*8=24 \n" ); document.write( "The volume of a prism is calculated by multiplying the area of the base by the height. (For a pyramid, it would be 1/3 of the product, but no fractional facors are needed for prisms or solids). \n" ); document.write( "So for the prism, the volume (in cubic cm) is V=24h. \n" ); document.write( "24h=360 --> h=360/24=15 \n" ); document.write( "The height of your prism is 15 cm. \n" ); document.write( " |