SOLUTION: A prism has triangular base with sides 6, 8 and 10. The height is 10. What's the volume? I "got" the answer, I just clicked to see which answer was correct, and the answer that

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Question 622495: A prism has triangular base with sides 6, 8 and 10. The height is 10. What's the volume?
I "got" the answer, I just clicked to see which answer was correct, and the answer that was correct is 240. Why is that the answer?
Answer by KMST(5328) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
A triangle with sides measuring 6, 8 and 10 is a right triangle.
(I could use the Pythagorean theorem to prove it, but triangles with side lengths in the ratio 3:4:5 are very popular with teachers.
All teachers remember that a triangle with side lengths 3,4 and 5 is a right triangle because 3%5E2%2B4%5E2=5%5E2, and scaled up versions are similar triangles that show up in many problems).
The sides with length 6 and 8 are the legs of the right triangle, perpendicular to each other.
If we call one of them the base of the triangle, the other would be the height.
So the area of the triangle can be calculated as
A=%281%2F2%29%2A6%2A8=24
The volume of a prism can be calculated by multiplying the area of the base times the height,
The prism in the problem has a base area of 24, and a height of 10.
Its volume is 24%2A10=240