Question

mr.mcbride asks students to find the volume of the triangular pyramid below. which student wrote the correct expression for the value of B, the are of the base?

Answer 1

Given:

Given that the height of the pyramid is 20 inches.

The sides of the triangle are 9 in, 12 in and 15 in.

The expression for the area of the base written by JO is
`(1)/(2)(9 \cdot 15)`

The expression for the area of the base written by MAE is
`(1)/(2)(9 \cdot 12)`

We need to determine the correct expression for the area of the base written by the student.

Expression for the area of the base:

The area of the base of the triangular prism can be determined using the formula,

`B=(1)/(2)bh`

where b is the base of the triangle and h is the height of the triangle.

From the figure, the base of the triangle is 9 inches and the height of the triangle is 12 inches.

Substituting in the above formula, we get;

`B=(1)/(2)(9 \cdot 12)`

Thus, the correct expression for the area of the base is
`B=(1)/(2)(9 \cdot 12)`

Hence, the expression wrote by MAE is correct.