What is a Rectangular Prism?
In geometry, a specific type of polyhedron is called a rectangular prism because all its faces are rectangular in shape. It is a 3-dimensional figure having a hollow inner surface with 6 faces parallel to each other.
Generally, we can say that a rectangular prism is like a cuboid having 6 faces and 12 edges where all its faces meet. As the parallel faces are the same in length, width, and height. So, it is right to say that a rectangular prism has 3 pairs of identical faces having rectangular shapes.
Like other geometrical figures, we can solve this type of figure too. We can find its surface area and volume using specific formulas. In this blog, we will share a comprehensive guide about this shape and the calculation of different measurements for your understanding.
Types of a Rectangular Prism
Depending on the length of a rectangular prism and the angles between its faces, these are divided into two main types. In this section, we will describe those types to let you understand how these types are classified.
Right Rectangular Prism
It is the general type of rectangular prism as it fulfills the definition of this figure exactly without any difference. For the sake of your understanding, a right rectangular prism is defined as a rectangular prism in which all faces make an angle of 90 degrees with each other.
In simple words, all sides of a rectangular prism will be perpendicular to each other. This prism has 6 faces, 12 edges, and 8 vertices of rectangular shape. Like a standard rectangular prism, all faces will be identical to their parallel faces.
The width of a rectangular prism will be equal to the length and height of a rectangular prism. It is because this prism is like a cuboid that has all sides of equal measures.
Oblique Rectangular Prism
A specific type of rectangular prism in which one or more angles are greater than 90 degrees will be called an oblique rectangular prism. In this type of prism, the faces won’t be perpendicular to each other.
Undoubtedly, the number of faces, edges, and vertices will be the same in this prism as compared to the right rectangular prism. But the faces won’t make an angle of 90 degrees and will be greater than this standard angle.
How to find the surface area and volume of a rectangular prism?
A rectangular prism is a 3-dimensional figure made of 2-dimensional faces. So, we can find its surface area and volume easily using specific formulas. Here are the formulas that you have to find these measurements one by one.
Surface area of a rectangular prism = Lateral surface area + 2 (Base Area) Sq. units In this formula,
- The lateral surface area is the sum of the area of all faces except the base.
- The base area is the surface area of the base of a rectangular prism.
- The units of the surface area of a rectangular prism will be the square of the units in which measurements are given.
By putting these values in the above formula, you can easily find the surface area of the complete rectangular prism.
To find the volume of the rectangular prism, you have to follow this formula.
Volume of a rectangular prism = Length x Width x Height
cubic units It means that you have to find the length, width, and height of the rectangular prism to find its volume. The units used to represent this measurement will be the cube of the units in which measurements have been given.
Sometimes, you may have complex values as the parameters of this geometrical figure. To solve such questions, you can get assistance from a rectangular prism calculator. It will help you in finding the surface area and volume of this figure within seconds.
How to calculate the surface area and volume of a rectangular prism?
There is no doubt that solving a rectangular prism is a difficult task as you have to use different formulas. Also, it is complex because of the involvement of multiple faces and a complex figure. To assist our readers, we have solved examples to let you understand the solution properly.
example 1:
Find the surface area of a rectangular prism if its lateral area is 5m and the base area is 3m.
Solution:
As the formula for finding the surface area of a rectangular prism is given by, Surface area of a rectangular prism = Lateral surface area + 2 (Base Area) Sq.
units
By putting the given values,
= 5 + 6 square meters
= 11 m2
example 2:
Find the volume of a rectangular prism if its height is 3m, length is 6m, and width is 7m.
Solution:
To find the volume of a rectangular prism, we have to use the following formula.
Volume of a rectangular prism = l x w x h cubic units
= 6 x 7 x 3 m3
= 126 m3
Conclusion
Solving a rectangular prism may not be difficult when you are familiar with the parameters and formulas to solve different problems. In the above sections, we have discussed briefly how you can find the area and volume of this geometrical figure.
We hope you have got a clear demonstration of the solution to such problems. You can now find the area and volume of a rectangular prism using the above formulas. If you are unable to solve them or have larger measurements, you can get assistance from a rectangular prism calculator.
FAQ
What is unique about a rectangular prism?
A rectangular prism has 6 faces, 8 edges, and 12 vertices having rectangular shapes.
How many types of rectangular prisms are there?
There are two major types of rectangular prisms depending on the angles between their sides. Those types are,
- Right rectangular prism
- Oblique rectangular prism
How do you find the width of a rectangular?
We can find the width by dividing the volume by the multiplication of the length and height of a rectangular prism.
How to find the length of a rectangular prism?
The length of a rectangular prism can be found by using its volume and the multiplication of height and width. We only have to divide the volume by the multiplication of these two sides to find the length.
How to find the height of a rectangular prism?
To find the height of a rectangular prism, we have to divide the volume by the multiplication of the length and width of that prism.
