Pyramid
Pyramid
Pyramid
In this topic we will deal the volumes, lateral and total area of a pyramid. We will learn how to derive
the lateral and total area by illustrating the lateral faces of a pyramid, thus make this topic quite
interesting.
I. Definition. A pyramid is a polyhedron of which one face called the base is a polygon of any number of
sides and the other faces are triangles which have a common vertex.
If we peel – off the faces of the pyramid, it will look like the figure at the right, where we can see the
lateral faces and one base. Thus, solving its lateral area is the same as are the lateral faces which are
triangles.
base ×height
A=
2
Lateral Area = sum of the areas of the triangles formed The yellow lines represent the slant
Notice height. It is also the height a triangle
a×s (lateral face)
L.A = 3( )
2
3a×s
= ; this is quite interesting;
2
Thus,
Perimeter of the base × slant height
L . A=
2
Consider the example below.
Example 1.
A regular pentagonal pyramid has an altitude of 20 cm. and a slant height of 25 cm. Find the lateral
area of the pyramid.
Solution:
Illustration:
Since, we already solved the lateral area using the base edge of the previous, our problem now is to
solve the base area,
Recall:
Example 1.
A regular pentagonal pyramid has an altitude of 20 cm. and a slant height of 25 cm. Find the volume
of the pyramid.
Recall
Make an illustration of each problem and show your solution. Make your work neat and clean.
A. A square pyramid has base edge of 20 cm and an altitude of 15 cm. Find its lateral and the
volume of the pyramid.
B. An inverted pyramid whose base is an equilateral triangle is to be filled with 2,000 gallons of
water. Find the height of the regular triangular pyramid if each base edge is 4 meters.
(1 cu. meter = 264.17 gals)
C. The surface of a church spire is in a form of a regular hexagonal pyramid 60 feet high and a
lateral edge of 100 ft. is to be painted. Find the cost of painting the surface of the church spire if
each square yard cost P200.