What is the formula for the volume of a rectangular prism in terms of length, width, and height?

What is the formula for the volume of a rectangular prism in terms of length, width, and height?

• A. V = l × w × h
• B. V = l + w + h
• C. V = l × w
• D. V = l^2 × h

Answer: (A)

Volume measures how much space a 3D object occupies. For a rectangular prism, imagine the base as a rectangle whose area is length × width. If you stack that base up to a height of height units, you multiply by height to get the total space inside. So the volume is length × width × height. This is why the base-area idea times height works: V = l × w × h. For example, with length 3, width 4, and height 2, you get 3 × 4 × 2 = 24 cubic units. The other forms aren’t correct because addition doesn’t measure space, l × w gives only the base area, and l^2 × h uses length twice instead of incorporating the width.

Volume measures how much space a 3D object occupies. For a rectangular prism, imagine the base as a rectangle whose area is length × width. If you stack that base up to a height of height units, you multiply by height to get the total space inside. So the volume is length × width × height. This is why the base-area idea times height works: V = l × w × h. For example, with length 3, width 4, and height 2, you get 3 × 4 × 2 = 24 cubic units. The other forms aren’t correct because addition doesn’t measure space, l × w gives only the base area, and l^2 × h uses length twice instead of incorporating the width.