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A pyramid with square bases of edge length of 2 inches and has surface area of 16 square inches. What is its slant height.

User Sebulba
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1 Answer

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so, the base has legths of 2, and a surface area of 16

ok... hmm well, the pyramid, notice the picture below, has 4 triangular faces and one squarish base/bottom, we know the lengths of the base are 2 each, so the area of the base is 2x2, or 4

if we subtract the area of the base from those total of 16, we get 16 - 4 = 12, meaning, the 4 triangular faces will have to evenly share those 12 units fo their area

4 triangles, 12/4, so that means each gets an areas of 3units

if you notice in the picture, the slant-height of the pyramid, is the "altitude" or height of the triangular face

so... hmm just solve for "h"
A pyramid with square bases of edge length of 2 inches and has surface area of 16 square-example-1
User Igor Akhmetov
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