The total area of all the faces of a rectangular prism is 22, and the total length of all its edges is 24. Find the length of the internal diagonal of the prism.

Thank you!

6 answers

let the sides be a, b, and c
We know:
4a +4b + 4c = 24 ----> a+b+c = 6
and
4ab + 4ac + 4bc = 22
2ab + 2ac + 2bc = 11

The length of the diagonal is
√(a^2 + b^2 + c^2)

by algebra, we know
(a+b+c)^2 = a^2 + b^2 + c^2 + 2ab + 2ac + 2bc
subbing in
6^2 = a^2 + b^2 + c^2 +11
a^2 + b^2 + c^2 = 25
then ..

√(a^2 + b^2 + c^2) = √25 = 5

The diagonal is 5

(nice problem)
If the dimensions are x,y,z then we have

2xy+2xz+2yz = 22
4x+4y+4z = 24

xy+xz+yz = 11
x+y+z = 6

How about 1,2,3
diagonal is √14
Sorry, tried 5 but it didn't work. The hint said that it was a simplified square root?
How did I possible see 4 of equal sides ?

but... my algebra worked out sooo nice!

Reminds me of the classic StarTrek episode where Cpt Picard is tortured by the Kardashians and sees 4 lights.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moX3z2RJAV8
Let the sides be a, b, and c. Then the total surface area is 2(ab+bc+ca)=22, and total length of all the edges is 4(a+b+c)=24. Hence, ab + ac + bc = 11 and a + b + c = 6.

We want to find the length of the internal diagonal, which is √a^2 + b^2 + c^2. First, we square the equation a + b + c = 6, to get
a^2 + b^2 + c^2 + 2ab + 2ac + 2bc = 36.

Therefore,
a^2 + b^2 + c^2 = 36 - 2(ab + ac + bc) = 36 - 2 * 11 = 14,
which means that the length of the internal diagonal is √14.
I know I'm late, but...
I'm also getting √14.
~Dog_Lover