Prism Volume Calculator Formula

Understand the math behind the prism volume calculator. Each variable explained with a worked example.

Formulas Used

Volume

volume = l * w * h

Surface Area

surface_area = 2 * (l * w + l * h + w * h)

Diagonal

diagonal = sqrt(pow(l, 2) + pow(w, 2) + pow(h, 2))

Variables

VariableDescriptionDefault
lLength10
wWidth5
hHeight3

How It Works

Rectangular Prism (Box) Formulas

Volume

V = l × w × h

Surface Area

SA = 2(lw + lh + wh)

Space Diagonal

d = sqrt(l² + w² + h²)

The space diagonal runs from one corner to the opposite corner through the interior of the box.

Worked Example

Box with length 10, width 5, height 3.

l = 10w = 5h = 3
  1. 01Volume = 10 × 5 × 3 = 150
  2. 02Surface area = 2(50 + 30 + 15) = 2 × 95 = 190
  3. 03Diagonal = √(100+25+9) = √134 ≈ 11.5758

Ready to run the numbers?

Open Prism Volume Calculator