A rectangular pyramid has a length of 10 cm and a width of 15 cm. Its volume is 900 cubic centimeters. Use the formula for the volume of a pyramid to calculate the height of this pyramid. Show your work.

1 answer

To calculate the height of the pyramid, we need to use the formula for the volume of a pyramid, which is given by:

\[ V = \frac{1}{3} \times B \times h \]

where:

  • \( V \) is the volume of the pyramid,
  • \( B \) is the area of the base,
  • \( h \) is the height of the pyramid.

For a rectangular base, the area \( B \) can be calculated as:

\[ B = \text{length} \times \text{width} \]

Given the dimensions of the base:

  • Length (l) = 10 cm
  • Width (w) = 15 cm

Calculating the area \( B \):

\[ B = 10 , \text{cm} \times 15 , \text{cm} = 150 , \text{cm}^2 \]

Now, we know the volume \( V \) is given as 900 cubic centimeters. We can substitute \( V \) and \( B \) into the volume formula to find the height \( h \):

\[ 900 = \frac{1}{3} \times 150 \times h \]

Now we simplify the equation:

\[ 900 = 50h \]

Next, we solve for \( h \):

\[ h = \frac{900}{50} = 18 , \text{cm} \]

Thus, the height of the pyramid is:

\[ \boxed{18 , \text{cm}} \]