Hello, wised!
Find the volume of a frustum of a right pyramid whose lower base is a square with a side 5 in,
whose upper base is a square with a side 3 in, and whose altitude is 12 in.
Round to the nearest whole number.
There is a formula for the volume of a frustum of a pyramid:
\(\displaystyle \L\;\;\;V\;=\;\frac{h}{3}\left(B_1\,+\,\sqrt{B_1B_2}\,+\,B_2\right)\)
\(\displaystyle \;\;\)where \(\displaystyle h\) is the height and \(\displaystyle B_1,\,B_2\) are the areas of the two bases.
In your problem: \(\displaystyle \,h\,=\,12,\:B_1\,=\,9,\:B_2\,=\,25\)
Therefore: \(\displaystyle \:V\;=\;\frac{12}{3}\left({9\,+\,\sqrt{9\cdot25}\,+\,25\right)\:=\:4(25\,+\,15\,+\,9)\;=\;196\) in\(\displaystyle ^3\).
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You can invent your own formula for this problem.
The volume of a pyramid is: \(\displaystyle \:V\;=\;\frac{1}{3}BH\)
\(\displaystyle \;\;\)where \(\displaystyle B\) is the area of the base and \(\displaystyle H\) is the height.
Consider the entire pyramid . . . the side view looks like this:
Code:
E
*
/|\
/ | \
/ |x \
/ | \
B*----+----*C
/ |F \
/ 12| \
/ | \
*---------+---------*
A G D
\(\displaystyle \text{We have: }\,BC\,=\,3,\:AD\,=\,5,\:FG\,=\,12.\;\;\text{Let }x\,=\,EF\)
From similar triangles, we have: \(\displaystyle \L\,\frac{x\,+\,12}{5}\:=\:\frac{x}{3}\;\;\)\(\displaystyle \Rightarrow\;\;x\,=\,18\)
Hence, the entire pyramid has: \(\displaystyle \,B\,=\,25,\,H\,=\,30\)
\(\displaystyle \;\;\)and its volume is: \(\displaystyle \:V_1\;=\;\frac{1}{3}(25)(30)\,=\,250\) in\(\displaystyle ^3\)
The upper pyramid has: \(\displaystyle \,B\,=\,9,\,H\,=\,18\)
\(\displaystyle \;\;\)and its volume is: \(\displaystyle \:V_2\;=\;\frac{1}{3}(9)(18)\;=\;54\) in\(\displaystyle ^3\)
Therefore, the volume of the frustum is: \(\displaystyle \:V\;=\;250\,-\,54\;=\;196\) in\(\displaystyle ^3\).