What is the slant height for the given pyramid to the nearest whole unit?

A pyramid with a rectangular base is shown. Inside is a blue triangle formed by vertices located at the center of the rectangular base, midpoint of a side of the base, and apex of the pyramid. Pyramid base = 10 cm
Height = 12 cm
A. 7 cm
B. 11 cm
C. 13 cm
D. 16 cm

1 answer

To find the slant height of the pyramid, we need to use the Pythagorean theorem. The slant height is the hypotenuse of a right triangle formed by the height of the pyramid and half the length of the base.

Half the length of the base is 10/2 = 5 cm.

Using the Pythagorean theorem:

slant height = sqrt(5^2 + 12^2)

slant height = sqrt(169)

slant height ≈ 13 cm

Therefore, the slant height to the nearest whole unit is C. 13 cm.