Prisms

A prism is a solid object with:

identical ends

flat faces

and the same cross section all along its length !

A cross section is the shape made by cutting straight across an object.

The cross section of this object is a triangle ...
.. it has the same cross section all along its length ...
... so it's a triangular prism.

No Curves!
A prism is a polyhedron, which means all faces are flat!

No curved sides.
For example, a cylinder is not a prism, because it has curved sides.

Bases

The ends of a prism are parallel

and each one is called a base.

Sides

The side faces of a prism are parallelograms

(4-sided shapes with opposite sides parallel)

These are all Prisms:

Square Prism:

Cross-Section:

Cube:

Cross-Section:

(yes, a cube is a prism, because it is a square

all along its length)
Triangular Prism:

Cross-Section:

Pentagonal Prism:

Cross-Section:

Regular and Irregular Prisms

All the previous examples are Regular Prisms, because the cross section is regular (in
other words it is a shape with equal edge lengths, and equal angles.)
Here is an example of an Irregular Prism:

Irregular Pentagonal Prism:

Cross-Section
It is "irregular" because the
cross-section is not "regular" in shape.

Surface Area of a Prism

Surface Area = 2 Base Area

+ Base Perimeter Length

Example: What is the surface area of a prism where the base area is 25 m2,
the base perimeter is 24 m, and the length is 12 m:

Surface Area = 2 Base Area + Base Perimeter Length

= 2 25 m2 + 24 m 12 m
= 50 m2 + 288 m2
= 338 m2

Volume of a Prism
The Volume of a prism is the area of one end times the length of the prism.

Volume = Base Area Length

Example: What is the volume of a prism where the base area is 25 m2 and
which is 12 m long:
Volume = Area Length
= 25 m2 12 m
= 300 m3

More About The Side Faces

The side faces of a prism are parallelograms (4-sided shape with opposites sides parallel)

A prism can lean to one side, making it an oblique prism, but the two ends are still parallel,
and the side faces are still parallelograms!

But if the two ends are not parallel it is not a prism.