Final answer:
The sides of the base of the right rectangular prism are 5 feet long. This is derived by using the volume formula V = Ah for a prism, plugging in the given volume and height, and solving for the side length of the square base.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question regards finding the length of the sides of the base of a right rectangular prism with a square base, given the height is 12 feet and the volume is 300 cubic feet. The volume of a right rectangular prism is calculated using the formula V = Ah, where A is the area of the base and h is the height. In this case, the base is a square, so the area of the base can be represented by s² where s is the side length of the square.
Using the formula V = s²h, and substituting the given values we have:
300 = s²(12)
Dividing both sides by 12:
25 = s²
Taking the square root of both sides:
5 = s
Therefore, the length of the sides of the base is 5 feet, which corresponds to option d.