Image Source – Hexagonal prisms at the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland.

Firstly, what is a prism? A prism is a 3D shape that has cross-sections parallel to the base faces the same. Prisms are named for their base, so a prism with a triangular base is called a triangular prism (like a Toblerone package) and one with a pentagonal base is called a pentagonal prism. To work out the surface area of a prism, you need to calculate the area of each face and add them together. To calculate the volume of a prism, you need to work out the area of the base and multiply by the height of the prism ( the distance between congruent faces).

• Thinkquest has a great page, designed by students, all about “Geometry: Area and Volume of Solids”.
• BBC Bitesize has two activities about Area and Volume.
• Volume and Surface Area of 3D shapes.
• BBC Activity about 3D shapes.