PSAT Math : Solid Geometry

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for PSAT Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #241 : Geometry

If the volume of a cube is 64 cubic inches, then it has an edge length of _______.

Possible Answers:

8 in

9 in

4 in

6 in

2 in

Correct answer:

4 in

Explanation:

Example Question #4 : How To Find The Length Of An Edge Of A Cube

If the volume of a cube is 512 units, what is the length of one edge of the cube?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The volume of a cube is length x width x height. Since it's a cube, though, the length, width, and height are all equal, and equivalent to the length of one edge of the cube.  Therefore, to find the lenght of an edge of the cube, just find the cube root of the volume. In this case, the cube root of 512 is equal to 8.

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Length Of An Edge Of A Cube

Find the length of an edge of a cube that has a volume of .

Possible Answers:

 

 

 

 

 

Correct answer:

 

Explanation:

All the edges of a cube have the same length, and the volume of a cube is the length of an edge taken to the third power.

So if we take the edge of the cube to be of length x, then:

So the length of the edge of a cube with a volume of 125 is 5.

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Length Of An Edge Of A Cube

A certain shipping company has cubic boxes. One of these boxes has a volume of . How long are each of the sides of the box in feet?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The formula for the volume of a cube is 

where  is the length of a side.

Here, the volume is 729. To find the side length, take the cube root of both sides:

The cube root of 729 is 9, so the length of each side of the cube is 9 feet.

Example Question #7 : How To Find The Length Of An Edge Of A Cube

If a cube has a volume of   cubic inches, approximately how long, in feet, is one edge of the cube?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The formula for the volume of a cube is  where s is any edge.

This means one edge of the cube is . We then divide 8.5 by 12 to convert to feet.

 feet.

Example Question #241 : Geometry

A regular octahedron has eight congruent faces, each of which is an equilateral triangle. 

A given octahedron has edges of length five inches. Give the total surface area of the octahedron.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The area of an equilateral triangle is given by the formula

Since there are eight equilateral triangles that comprise the surface of the octahedron, the total surface area is 

Substitute :

 square inches.

Example Question #71 : Solid Geometry

A regular icosahedron has twenty congruent faces, each of which is an equilateral triangle. 

The total surface area of a given regular icosahedron is 400 square centimeters. To the nearest tenth of a centimeter, what is the length of each edge?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The total surface area of the icosahedron is 400 square centimeters; since the icosahedron comprises twenty congruent faces, each has area  square centimeters.

The area of an equilateral triangle is given by the formula

Set  and solve for 

 centimeters.

 

Example Question #251 : Psat Mathematics

Swimming_pool

The above depicts a rectangular swimming pool for an apartment. 80% of the pool is six feet deep, and the remaining part of the pool is four feet deep. How many cubic feet of water does the pool hold?

Possible Answers:

None of the other choices gives the correct answer.

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The cross-section of the pool is the area of its surface, which is the product of its length and its width:

 square feet.

Since 80% of the pool is six feet deep, this portion of the pool holds 

 cubic feet of water.

Since the remainder of the pool - 20% - is four feet deep, this portion of the pool holds 

 cubic feet of water.

Add them together: the pool holds 

 cubic feet of water.

Example Question #1 : Tetrahedrons

Tetra_1

Refer to the above tetrahedron, or four-faced solid. The surface area of the tetrahedron is 444. Evaluate  to the nearest tenth. 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The tetrahedron has four faces, each of which is an equilateral triangle with sidelength . Since the total surface area is 444, each triangle has area one fourth of this, or 111. To find , set  in the formula for the area of an equilateral triangle:

Example Question #252 : Psat Mathematics

Tetra_2

Note: Figure NOT drawn to scale.

The above triangular pyramid has volume 25. To the nearest tenth, evaluate .

Possible Answers:

Insufficient information is given to answer the problem.

Correct answer:

Explanation:

We are looking for the height of the pyramid.

The base is an equilateral triangle with sidelength 4, so its area can be calculated as follows:

The height  of a pyramid can be calculated using the fomula

We set  and  and solve for :

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