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What is a prism?

We called your bedroom a rectangular prism, but what does that really mean? Recall that a prism is defined as a solid object with two identical ends and flat sides. Review the properties of a prism.

Properties of a Prism

  1. The sides of a prism are parallelograms.
  2. The cross section of a prism is the same all along the length.
  3. A prism is also a polyhedron.

There are a few different kinds of prisms. Click on the images below to explore each type.

cube rectangular prism triangular prism

pentagonal prism hexagonal prism

Now, answer the following questions to check your understanding.

Question 1

What do you notice about the bases of all of these different types of prisms?

The bases of each prism are congruent. For example, a hexagonal prism will have two identical hexagons as bases.

Question 2

What do you notice about the sides of each of these types of prisms?

Each of the sides is a parallelogram. For example, the sides of a rectangular prism are rectangles.