High School Math : Pyramids

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for High School Math

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Example Questions

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Example Question #1 : Pyramids

What is the volume of a pyramid with a height of  and a square base with a side length of ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the volume of a pyramid we must use the equation

 

We must first solve for the area of the square using

We plug in  and square it to get 

We then plug our answer into the equation for the pyramid with the height to get

 

We multiply the result to get our final answer for the volume of the pyramid

 .

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Volume Of A Pyramid

Find the volume of the following pyramid. Round the answer to the nearest integer.

Pyramid

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The formula for the volume of a pyramid is:

where  is the width of the base,  is the length of the base, and  is the height of the pyramid.

In order to determine the height of the pyramid, you will need to use the Pythagoream Theorem to find the slant height:

 

Now we can use the slant height to find the pyramid height, once again using the Pythagoream Theorem:

 

Plugging in our values, we get:

Example Question #3 : How To Find The Volume Of A Pyramid

Find the volume of the following pyramid. 

Pyramid

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The formula for the volume of a pyramid is:

Where  is the length of the base,  is the width of the base, and  is the height of the pyramid

 

Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the slant height:

 

Now, use the Pythagorean Theorem again to find the length of the height:

 

Plugging in our values, we get:

Example Question #1 : Pyramids

What is the sum of the number of vertices, edges, and faces of a square pyramid?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

A square pyramid has one square base and four triangular sides.

Vertices (where two or more edges come together):  5. There are four vertices on the base (one at each corner of the square) and a fifth at the top of the pyramid.

Edges (where two faces come together):  8. There are four edges on the base (one along each side) and four more along the sides of the triangular faces extending from the corners of the base to the top vertex.

Faces (planar surfaces):  5. The base is one face, and there are four triangular faces that form the top of the pyramid.

Total

Example Question #1 : Pyramids

An architect wants to make a square pyramid and fill it with 12,000 cubic feet of sand. If the base of the pyramid is 30 feet on each side, how tall does he need to make it?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Volume of Pyramid = 1/3 * Area of Base * Height

12,000 ft3 = 1/3 * 30ft * 30ft * H

12,000  = 300 * H

H = 12,000  / 300 = 40

H = 40 ft

Example Question #1 : Pyramids

The volume of a 6-foot-tall square pyramid is 8 cubic feet. How long are the sides of the base?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Volume of a pyramid is

Thus:

Area of the base is .

Therefore, each side is .

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Surface Area Of A Pyramid

What is the surface are of a pyramid with a square base length of 15 and a slant height (the height from the midpoint of one of the side lengths to the top of the pyramid) of 12?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the surface area of a pyramid we must add the areas of all five of the shapes creating the pyramid together.

We have four triangles that all have the same area and a square that supports the pyramid.

To find the area of the square we take the side length of 15 and square it 

The area of the square is  .

To find the area of the triangle we must use the equation for the area of a triangle which is 

Plug in the slant height 12 as the height of the triangle and use the side length of the square 15 as the base in our equation to get

 

The area of each triangle is .

We then multiply the area of each triangle by 4 to find the area of all four triangles .

The four triangles have a surface area of .

We add the surface area of the four triangles with the area of the square to get the answer for the surface area of the pyramid which is .

The answer is  .

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Surface Area Of A Pyramid

Find the surface area of the following pyramid.

Pyramid

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The formula for the surface area of a pyramid is:

Where  is the length of the slant height,  is the width of the base, and  is the length of the base

 

In order to determine the areas of the triangle, you will need to use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the slant height:

 

Plugging in our values, we get:

Example Question #3 : How To Find The Surface Area Of A Pyramid

Find the surface area of the following pyramid.

Pyramid

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The formula for the surface area of a pyramid is:

Where  is the length of the base,  is the width of the base, and  is the slant height

 

Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the slant height:

 

Plugging in our values, we get:

Example Question #1 : Pyramids

What is the surface area of a square pyramid with a base side equal to 4 and a slant length equal to 6?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The surface area of of a square pyramid can be determined using the following equation:

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