A rectangular prism - Math Central

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Quandaries & Queries

Question from Savannah, a student:

A rectangular prism is made of exactly 8 cubes. Find the length, width, and height.

Hi Savannah,

There are a number of ways you can make a rectangular prism with 8 blocks. You could make a base of 1 block and stack the rest on top of the base.

prism 1

You could make a base of 2 blocks and stand the rest on top of the base.

prism 2

Can you make a rectangular prism with a base of 3 blocks? What about 4? ....

Penny

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