Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS) Practice Exam

How do you calculate the volume of a rectangular prism?

1. Volume = length + width + height

2. Volume = length * width

3. Volume = length * width * height

4. Volume = 2 * (length + width + height)

The correct answer is: Volume = length * width * height

The volume of a rectangular prism is calculated by finding the product of its length, width, and height. This is because volume measures the amount of space within a three-dimensional object. To understand this, consider that a rectangular prism is essentially made up of layers of rectangles (in the case of a cube, it is made up of several stacked squares). By multiplying the length and width, you find the area of the base of the prism. Multiplying that base area by the height gives you the total volume, as you are essentially repeating the base area for each layer of height. The other choices reflect misconceptions about volume. Adding dimensions does not yield a meaningful measure of volume, and just multiplying length by width only provides the area of the base, not the complete volume. As for the equation involving doubling the sum of the dimensions, it does not align with the geometric principles of calculating volume. Thus, the formula for volume as the product of length, width, and height is the correct approach.