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A prism has the same cross section all along its length !

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A cross section is the shape you get when cutting straight across an object.

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The cross section of this object is a triangle ... .. it has the same cross section all along its length ... ... and so it's a triangula r prism.

Copyright 2006

Try drawing a shape on a piece of paper (using straight lines!), then imagine it extending up from the sheet of paper,

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- that's a prism !

No Curves!
A prism is officially a polyhedron, which means all sides should be flat. No curved sides. So the cross section will be a polygon (a straight-edged figure). For example, if the cross section was a circle then it would be a cylinder, not a prism.

These are all Prisms:

Square Prism: Cross-Section:

Cube:

Cross-Section:

(yes, a cube is a prism, because it is a square all along its length) (Also see Rectangular Prisms ) Triangular Prism: Cross-Section:

Pentagonal Prism:

Cross-Section:

Regular and Irregular Prisms

All the previous examples are Regular Prisms, because the cross section is regular (in other words it is a shape with equal edge lengths) Here is an example of an Irregular Prism:

Irregular Pentagonal Prism:

Cross-Section:

(It is "irregular" because the Pentagon is not "regular"in shape)

Volume of a Prism
The Volume of a prism is simply the area of one end times the length of the prism

Volume = Area Length

Example: What is the volume of a prism whose ends are 25 in2 and which is 12 in long: Answer: Volume = 25 in2 12 in = 300 in3 (Note: we have an Area Calculation Tool) Polyhedron Cuboids / Rectangular Prisms Platonic Solids Cylinder Cone Sphere Torus