Volume of Prisms

Prior Knowledge:
Before attempting this sheet, students should be able to:
• calculate the area of a circle (πr2)
• round numbers to whole numbers
• calculate the area of:
1
• triangles (2 × base × height)
• rectangles (length × width)
• squares (length × width)
1
• trapeziums (2 × (a + b) × height)

The volume of a shape is the measure of the three-dimensional space it covers. The units of
measurement for volume are cubic units, for example cm3 or m3.

A prism is a solid (3D) object which is the same shape all the way through; it has a constant cross-
section.

To calculate the volume of a prism, including a circular prism, learn this formula by heart:

Volume = area of cross-section × length or height

cross-section
cross-section

Height

gth
len

For example, the cross-section of this cuboid is a rectangle.

height

width
length

To calculate the area of the cross-section, it would be length × width. You would then multiply this
by the height, hence the formula: length × width × height.

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 Volume of Prisms

Example 1
Calculate the volume of the prism shown below.

4cm
m
12c
5cm

The first step is to calculate the area of the cross-section. In other words, you need to calculate
the area of the base of the shape. (The base is always the face which is the same as the cross-
section).

This shape is a triangular prism; its base is a triangle. Therefore, you need to calculate the area
1
of the triangle. Remember that the formula for calculating the area of a triangle is 2 × base ×
height.
1
2
× 5 × 4 = 10cm2

Now that you have the area of the cross-section, multiply it by its length to calculate the volume.
10 × 12 = 120cm3 (Don’t forget the units!)

Example 2
Calculate the volume of the cylinder, giving your answer correct to the nearest whole number.

4cm

8cm

Start by calculating the area of the cross section. In other words - the area of the circle. Remember
that the formula for calculating the area of a circle is πr2.
π × 42
π × 16 = 50.26548246...cm2
(It’s important that you don’t round your answer at this stage – you could also leave your answer
in terms of π, e.g. 16π.)

Now, multiply the area of the circle by the height.

As you don’t have any further calculations to do, you should now round the answer to the
degree which the question has asked for. In this case, the nearest whole number.
3
Therefore, the answer is 402cm . (Don’t forget the units!)

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 Volume of Prisms
Your turn
1. Calculate the volume of each shape, giving your answers correct to the nearest whole
number where necessary.

a. e. 6cm

3cm 4cm
cm
m 20
10c 14cm
6cm

 

 

 

b. f.

6cm
3.5m
5cm
12cm 16m

 

 

 

c. g.

2m
2.75cm
m
1.1m 16c
1.2m 5.5cm

 

 

 

d. h. 5.6cm
5cm

3cm 3cm m
.1c
10.2cm 18

 

 

 

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 Volume of Prisms
2. The volume of the triangular prism is 106cm3. Calculate the measurement of the missing
length marked x.

4cm
x
5cm

3. The volume of the prism shown below is 216cm3. Calculate the cross-sectional area of the
prism.

16cm

4. The cuboid and the triangular prism have the same volume. Calculate the measurement of
the missing length marked x.

7cm
3.5cm
m 2cm
16c x
6cm


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 Volume of Prisms

5. Boxes of chocolate are placed into a crate. Each box of chocolate is a cuboid and the crate
is also a cuboid. Calculate the number of boxes of chocolate which will fit inside the crate.

20cm
4cm

8cm 32cm
15cm 60cm

Challenge
3
A fish tank is filled 4 full of water. Joshua pours 1500ml more water into the fish tank. How
many litres of water does the fish tank now contain?

Hint: 1ml = 1cm3

0.75m

20cm
1.5m

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