Question 49·Easy·Area and Volume
What is the volume, in cubic inches, of a rectangular prism with length 12 inches, width 4 inches, and height 3 inches?
(Express the answer as an integer)
For volume questions involving rectangular prisms on the SAT, immediately recall and write the formula . Check that you are multiplying all three dimensions, not adding them and not stopping after two. To avoid arithmetic mistakes, multiply two numbers first (whichever is easier, like ), then multiply that result by the third dimension, and always include the correct units (cubic units) in your interpretation.
Hints
Think about the formula you need
For a rectangular prism (a box shape), volume is found by multiplying its three edge lengths. What is that formula?
Use all three dimensions
Make sure you use the length, the width, and the height in your calculation—not just two of them.
Multiply in two stages
Try first finding the area of the base (length times width), then multiply that result by the height to get the volume.
Desmos Guide
Compute the volume with a single expression
In Desmos, type 12*4*3 on a new line. The value that Desmos outputs for this product is the volume of the rectangular prism in cubic inches.
Step-by-step Explanation
Recall the volume formula for a rectangular prism
The volume of a rectangular prism is the product of its three dimensions: length, width, and height.
So the formula is:
where is length, is width, and is height.
Substitute the given dimensions
You are given:
- Length inches
- Width inches
- Height inches
Substitute these into the formula:
Multiply step by step
First multiply length and width:
Now write the volume as that result times the height:
State the final volume with units
The volume of the rectangular prism is cubic inches, so the answer you should enter is 144.