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| Math Central | Quandaries & Queries |
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Question from Sam, a student: A right rectangular pyramid has a rectangular base measuring 18 cm by 32 cm. The height of the pyramid is 12 cm. What is the surface area? |
Hi Sam,
I drew a rough sketch of the pyramid and added a triangle.
The surface is composed of a rectangle that has an area which is easy to calculate and four triangles. Consider the triangle that contains the points P and Q. Q is the midpoint of the base of that triangle, the length of PQ is its height and R is the midpoint of the base rectangle. What is the length QR? What is the length PQ?
Penny
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