Use the image to answer the question.

An illustration of a rectangular prism is shown with labeled parts. The top, front and right sides are visible. The bottom, left, and rear sides are not visible, but their positions are indicated by dashed lines. The vertical edge joining the front and left sides shows a height of 12 centimeters. The front base edge shows a width of 3 centimeters. The right base edge shows a length of 4 centimeters. A dotted line extends diagonally from the vertex at the bottom back right side of the prism through the interior of the prism to the vertex at the top front left.

Find the length of the diagonal of the prism.

(1 point)
cm
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1 answer

The length of the diagonal of the prism can be found using the Pythagorean theorem. The vertical edge joining the front and left sides, the front base edge, and the right base edge form a right triangle. We can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the length of the diagonal.

The height of the prism (vertical edge) is given as 12 centimeters, the width (front base edge) is given as 3 centimeters, and the length (right base edge) is given as 4 centimeters.

Using the Pythagorean theorem, we have:

diagonal^2 = height^2 + width^2 + length^2
diagonal^2 = 12^2 + 3^2 + 4^2
diagonal^2 = 144 + 9 + 16
diagonal^2 = 169

Taking the square root of both sides, we get:

diagonal = √169
diagonal = 13 centimeters

Therefore, the length of the diagonal of the prism is 13 centimeters.