In Maths we've been exploring area and volume. Area is the flat surface that a shape covers whilst volume is the 3D space that it takes up.
Because we're amazing at working out areas, it's really easy for us to calculate volume too.
To find the volume of a prism you can calculate the area of the cross section (the 2D shape) and multiply it by the length.
For example...
This 3D shape has the cross section of a quadrilateral that can be split into a rectangle and a triangle.
Step 1) Area of rectangle 10cm x 7cm=70cm2 (the rectangle)
Step 2) Area of triangle ½ (3cm x 7cm) = 10.5cm2 (the triangle)
Step 3) Triangle + Rectangle 10.5cm2 + 70cm2 = 80.5 cm2 (cross section)
Step 4) Cross section x length 80.5cm2 x 5cm2 = 402.5cm3 (volume)
Could you try these ones?
