VOLUME OF PYRAMIDS & CONES

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The formula for the volume of pyramids and cones tells you how much space is inside each
object.
For these two solid shapes, the volume formula is the same: it's one third of the area of the
base times the height.
Volume of Pyramids or Cones = Base height
Why? Here it is in a nutshell. The volume of three pyramids is equal to the volume of one prism
with the same base and height. Similarly, the volume of three cones is equal to the volume of
one cylinder with the same circular base and height.

The volume of each cone is equal to Bh = (28.3 10) = 94 cm3. All three cones combined
equals 283 cm3. The volume of the cylinder is equal to Bh = 28.3 10 = 283 cm3, ta da!

The volume of each pyramid is equal to Bh = (18 8) = 48 cm3. All three pyramids
combined equals 144 cm3. The volume of the prism is equal to Bh = 18 8 = 144 cm3.
To find the volume of a sphere, follow this simple formula (which took a brilliant ancient Greek
mathematician named Archimedes years to derive):

Volume of a Sphere = 4/3 x radius cubed = 4/3r3

Surface area of a right pyramid

The faces bounding a right pyramid consist of a number of triangles together with the
base. To find the surface area, we find the area of each face and add them together.
Depending on the information given, it may be necessary to use Pythagoras Theorem
to calculate the height of each triangular face. If the base of the pyramid is a regular
polygon, then the triangular faces will be congruent to each other.

EXAMPLE

VABCD is a square-based pyramid with vertex Vand

base ABCD, with V vertically above the centre of the
square base. The height of the pyramid is 4 cm and
the side length of the base is 6 cm, find the surface
area of the pyramid.

SOLUTION

We need to find the height VE of triangle VBC,

using Pythagoras Theorem.

VE

= VO + OE
=4 +3
= 25
2

Hence VE = 5 cm.

Area of VCB

CB VE

= 65
= 15 cm
=66
= 36 cm
= 4 15 + 36
= 96 cm
2

Area of base

Surface area

The surface area of the pyramid is 96 cm .

2

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EXERCISE 1

When it was built, the Great Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt had a height of 145.

m and

its base was a square of side length 229 m. Find its surface area in square metres,
correct to three significant figures.

Volume of a pyramid

Here is a method for determining the formula for the volume of a square-based
pyramid.

Consider a cube of side length 2x. If we draw the four

long diagonals as shown, then we obtain six square-based pyramids, one of which is
shaded in the diagram.
Each of these pyramids has base area 2x 2x and height x. Now the volume of the
cube is 8x So the volume of each pyramid is
3.

8x =
3

x . Since the base area of

3

each pyramid is 4x it makes sense to write the volume as

2

Volume =

4x x =
2

area of the base height.

We can extend this result to any pyramid by using a geometric argument, giving the
following important result.

Volume of a pyramid =

area of the base height.

See the appendix on the pyramid for details.

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EXERCISE 2

Find the volume of the Great Pyramid of Cheops whose height is 145.75 m and whose
base is a square of side length 229 m. Give answer in cubic metres correct to two
significant figures.

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EXERCISE 3

Find the volume of the diamond, with height 24 cm

and side length 10 cm as shown.

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CONES
To create a cone we take a circle and a point, called the vertex, which lies above or
below the circle. We then join the vertex to each point on the circle to form a solid.

If the vertex is directly above or below the centre of the circular base, we call the cone
aright cone. In this section only right cones are considered.
If we drop a perpendicular from the vertex of the cone to the circular base, then the
length of this perpendicular is called the height h of the cone.
The length of any of the straight lines joining the vertex to the circle is called the slant
height of the cone. Clearly l = r + h , where r is the radius of the base.
2

Surface area of a cone

Suppose the cone has radius r, and slant height l, then the circumference of the base of
the cone is 2r.
To find the area of the curved surface of a cone, we cut and open up the curved surface
to form a sector with radius l, as shown below.

In the figure to the right below the ratio of the area of the shaded sector to the area of
the circle is the same as the ratio of the length of the arc of the sector to the
circumference of the circle.

Thus the fraction of the area of the whole circle taken up by the sector is

Hence, the area of the sector is

l = rl.
2

In conclusion, the area of the curved surface of the cone is rl

Adding this to the base, we have

Surface area of a cone = rl + r .
2

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EXERCISE 4
Find the surface area of the solid with dimensions shown.

Volume of a cone
When developing the formula for the volume of a cylinder in the module Area Volume
and Surface Area, we approximated the cylinder using inscribed polygonal prisms. By
taking more and more sides in the polygon, we obtained closer and closer
approximations to the volume of the cylinder. From this, we deduced that the volume of
the cylinder was equal to the area of the base multiplied by the height.
We can use a similar approach to develop the formula for the volume of a cone.

Given a cone with base radius r and height h, we construct a polygon inside the circular
base of the cone and join the vertex of the cone to each of the vertices of the polygon,
producing a polygonal pyramid. By increasing the number of sides of the polygon, we
obtain closer and closer approximations to the cone. Hence,

Volume of a cone =

area of the base height

r h
2

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EXERCISE 5
Find the volume of the solid described in the previous exercise.
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OBLIQUE PRISMS, CYLINDERS AND CONES

We have seen that the volume of a right rectangular prism is area of the base multiplied
by the height. What happens if the base of the prism is not directly below the top?
Cavalieris first principle states that if the cross-sections of two solids, taken at the
same distance above the base, have the same area, then the solids have the same
volume.

We will not give a proof of Cavalieris principle here. To present a rigorous proof
requires integration and slicing ideas.
It allows us to say that the volume of any rectangular prism, right or oblique, is given
by the area of the base multiplied by the height.
The same applies to oblique cylinders and cones.

More on cones
The portion of a right cone remaining after a smaller cone is cut off is called a frustum.
Suppose the top and bottom of a frustum are circles of radius R and r, respectively, and
that the height of the frustum is h, while the height of the original cone is H. The
volume of the frustum is by the difference of the volumes of he two cones and is given
by

Volume of a frustum =

[H(R r ) + r h].
2

Using similar triangles, we can eliminate H and the formula can be rewritten as
Volume of a frustum =

h(R + r + rR).
2

EXERCISE 8
Derive these results.
Similarly, it can be shown that the surface area of the frustum of a cone with base
radii r and R and slant height s, is given by

Surface Area of a frustum = (r + R ) + (r + R)s.

2

Note that when r = l we obtain the surface area of a cylinder.

EXERCISE 9
Derive this formula.
The concepts and insights developed in finding the formulas for areas and volumes are
used in Physics and Engineering to find such quantities as the centre of mass and
the moment of inertia of a solid body. Thus the development of volume formulas are
important for students, as is the careful memorizing of the key formulas, such as the
volume of a sphere.

APPENDIX ON THE PYRAMID

In the section Pyramids, we showed that a pyramid whose base is a square of sides
2x 2xand height x has volume

2x 2x x which is

base height.

In this appendix, we will show how to extend this result to any rectangular based
pyramid.

It can also be shown that the volume of any pyramid is given by

area of base

perpendicular height.
Cavalieris first principle states that given two solids of the same height, whose
cross-sections, taken at the same distance above the base, are of equal area, then the
solids have the same volume.
Cavalieris second principle states that if the cross-sections of two solids taken at
the same distance above the base have areas in the ratio a:b, then the solids have their
volumes in the ratio a:b.
We will use the second principle to show that the formula holds for any square pyramid
of height h.
Take two square pyramids of height h, one with base square length 2h and one with
base square length 2l. From our earlier discussion, we know that the volume of the first
pyramid is

V1 =

4h h. Let V2 be the volume of the second pyramid.

2

Take a slices at B and B1, distance d from the vertices, as shown in the diagram,
so that AB = A1B1 = d.

Let BC = a, B1C1 = b. Referring to the diagrams,

Hence

ABC is similar to

ADE.

implies a = d.

Hence the area of the cross-section for the first pyramid is given by 4a but this equals
2

4d .
2

Now in the second pyramid,

Hence

A1B1C1 is similar to

A1D1E1.

implies b =

Thus the area of the cross-section is 4b but this equals 4l d . Now the ratios of the
2

areas is 4a :4b = 4d :
2

= h :l .

This ratio is independent of d and so from Cavalieris second principle, the ratio of the
volumes is also h :l . This gives us
2

Hence V2 =

4l h which is
2

This tells us that the formula

pyramid of height h.

base perpendicular height.

base perpendicular height is valid for a square

Suppose we have two pyramids, one with a square base side length 2x and
height h and one whose base is a rectangle with sides 2y 2z, also of height h. The
volume of the first pyramid is

4h h by our discussion above.

2

We can choose x such that 4x = 4yz, so that the area of the rectangle equals the area
2

of the square.

Take slices at a distance d from the vertex in each pyramid. Using similar triangles, we
can easily show that so

and a =

. Thus the area of the cross-section in the

first pyramid is
A1= 4a =

In the second pyramid, we can again use similar triangles, as we did above, to show
that
y1 =

. Similarly, if z1 is half the width of the rectangular slice, then z1 =

area of the cross-section to be 4y1z1 =

giving the

Since zy = x , the cross-sections are equal in area and since the pyramids have the
2

same height, their volumes are equal by Cavalieris first principle. Thus the volume of
the rectangular pyramid is

2y 2z h, or

base area x height.

It remains to say that a similar method can be used to progress from a pyramid with
rectangular base to one whose base is a regular polygon, although the technical details
are more complicated and will not be given here.

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REFERENCES
A History of Mathematics: An Introduction, 3rd Edition, Victor J. Katz, Addison-Wesley,
(2008)
History of Mathematics, D. E. Smith, Dover publications New York, (1958)
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ANSWERS TO EXERCISES
EXERCISE 1
137 000 m

EXERCISE 2
2 500 000 m

EXERCISE 3
800 cm

EXERCISE 4
726 m

EXERCISE 5
(1800 + 36

) m

EXERCISE 6
The ratios of the areas of the cross-sections taken at the same heights is 4x : cd
2

From Cavalieris second principle:

Volume of pyramid =

cdx

EXERCISE 7
Surface area =(3

+ 66) cm

Volume = 105 cm

EXERCISE 8
Volume of frustrum = volume of large cone Volume of small cone

By similarity, H =

R H

r (H h)

((R r )H + r h)

. Substituting in the above formula gives the result.

EXERCISE 9
Surface area of the frustrum = (r + R ) + Rl r(l s)
2

By similar triangles, Rs = Rl lr
(r + R ) + Rl r(l s) = (r2 + R2) + (r + R)s
2

EXERCISE 10
2 r 2r = 4r

EXERCISE 11
a The square of the radius of the cross-section = r h (By Pythagoras theorem)
2

Area of cross-section= (r h )
2

b Area of cross-section = r h
2

c Volume of cylinder volume of cone = r

3

r =
3

EXERCISE 12
Surface area = 2r 2R = 4 rR
2

Solid Mensuration Problem Set

This is just the first batch of problems. Enjoy Solving.
1. Each side of the cube is increased by 1%. By what percent is the volume of the cube
increased? Ans. 3.03%
2.Given a sphere of diameter d, what is the percentage increase in its diameter when the
surface area increases by 21% Ans. 10%
3. How many times does the volume of the sphere increase if the radius is doubled? Ans. 8
times
4. A circular cone having an altitude of 9 m is divided into two segments having the same vertex.
If the smaller altitude is 6 m, find the ratio of the volume of the small cone to the big cone. Ans.
0.296
. Ans. 13503.4 cu. cm.5. Find the volume of the cone to be constructed from a sector having a
diameter of 72 cm and a central angle of 210
6. What is the height of a circular cone having a slant height of (10x ) and a base diameter of
2x? Ans. 3x
7. The ratio of the volume to the lateral area of a right circular cone is 2:1. If the altitude is 15
cm, what is the ratio of the slant height to the radius? Ans. 5:2
8. A regular triangular pyramid has an altitude of 9m and a volume of 187.06 cu. m. What is the
base edge in meters? Ans. 12m
9. The volume of the frustum of a regular triangular pyramid is 135 cu.m. The lower base is an
equilateral triangle with an edge of 9 cm. The upper base is 8 m above the lower base. What is
the upper base edge in meters? Ans. 3m
10. What is the frustum of a cone whose upper base is 15 cm in diameter and lower base 10
cm. in diameter with an altitude of 25 cm? Ans. 3108.87 cm3