Triangular Prism Calculator
Enter the three sides of the triangular base and the prism length.
A triangular prism has two parallel triangular faces (bases) connected by three rectangular faces. Volume = base area × length; Surface area = perimeter × length + 2 × base area. It appears in architecture, optics, and packaging.
Tip: Volume of any prism = base area × height (length). This works for triangular, rectangular, hexagonal — any shape base. Just find the cross-sectional area and multiply by the length.
- 1V = (1/2 × b × h_triangle) × L (where L = prism length)
- 2SA = (b + s₁ + s₂) × L + 2 × (1/2 × b × h_triangle)
- 3For right triangular prism with sides a, b, c and length L:
- 4SA = (a + b + c) × L + base area × 2
| Prism type | Volume | Lateral SA |
|---|---|---|
| Triangular | Triangle area × length | Perimeter × length |
| Rectangular | Length × width × height | 2(l+w) × h |
| Hexagonal | (3√3/2)s² × length | 6s × length |
| Circular (cylinder) | π r² × length | 2πr × length |
Fun Fact
Glass prisms split white light into a rainbow (spectrum) because different wavelengths refract at slightly different angles (dispersion). Isaac Newton used a prism in 1666 to prove that white light is a combination of all colors.
References