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Year 8

Properties of prisms

I can appreciate that all prisms have two congruent polygonal parallel faces (bases) with parallelogram faces joining the corresponding vertices of the bases.

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New
New
Year 8

Properties of prisms

I can appreciate that all prisms have two congruent polygonal parallel faces (bases) with parallelogram faces joining the corresponding vertices of the bases.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Prisms are 3D shapes with a cross-section that is a uniform polygon.
  2. All prisms will have a pair of parallel faces that are congruent.
  3. This polygon cross section is often used to name the prism.
  4. The sides connecting the bases are parallelograms.

Common misconception

I can tell a 3D shape is a prism because the 2D faces on both ends are congruent.

The cross-sectional face must be the same throughout, not just at the two ends of the shape. Also, the two end faces must be parallel.

Keywords

  • Prism - A prism is a polyhedron with a base that is a polygon and a parallel opposite face that is identical.

  • Cross-section - A cross section is a 2D face made from cutting straight through any plane of a 3D object.

The non-cross-sectional faces of a prism can be any type of parallelogram, thus all prisms are oblique. If these parallelograms are rectangles, then the prism is a special case of an oblique prism: the right prism.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these polygons has exactly six sides?
quadrilateral
pentagon
Correct answer: hexagon
octagon
polygon
Q2.
Match each polygon to the number of sides it has.
Correct Answer:equilateral triangle,3

3

Correct Answer:parallelogram,4

4

Correct Answer:pentagon,5

5

Correct Answer:octagon,8

8

Correct Answer:pentadecagon,15

15

Q3.
This is a triangular-based pyramid. This 3D shape has 4 vertices and 6 edges. It has faces.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 4, 4 faces, 4faces
Q4.
This is a triangular prism. Match the property of this object to its value.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer:vertices,6

6

Correct Answer:edges,9

9

Correct Answer:faces,5

5

Q5.
The front face of this cuboid is parallel to which other face?
An image in a quiz
top face
bottom face
left face
right face
Correct answer: back face
Q6.
The front and right faces of this cuboid have equal area. Which faces of this cuboid are congruent to the front face?
An image in a quiz
top face
bottom face
Correct answer: left face
Correct answer: right face
Correct answer: back face

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these 3D shapes are prisms?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: a
b
Correct answer: c
d
Q2.
This 3D shape is a prism. The base face and cross-section shown were used to help identify this shape as a prism. Which of these statements must be true?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: The base face and cross-section must be parallel to each other.
The base face and cross-section must be perpendicular to each other.
Correct answer: The base face and cross-section must be congruent to each other.
The base face and cross-section must be equidistant to each other.
The base face and cross-section must both be parallelograms.
Q3.
Which of these names are appropriate for this prism?
An image in a quiz
isosceles hexagonal prism
Correct answer: hexagonal prism
regular hexagonal prism
Correct answer: irregular hexagonal prism
Correct answer: right hexagonal prism
Q4.
Which of these words can used as part of the name of this prism?
An image in a quiz
right
Correct answer: oblique
parallelogram
Correct answer: trapezium
Correct answer: isosceles
Q5.
Alex says: "This prism is a rectangular prism, because this face is a rectangle". Which of these statements is correct?
An image in a quiz
Alex is correct because parallel cross-sections to this face are all rectangles.
Correct answer: Alex is incorrect because this is not the face that is the cross-sectional base.
Correct answer: This prism is a right angled triangular prism.
This prism is definitely a right prism because there is a right angle.
Q6.
Match each property of an octagonal prism to its value.
Correct Answer:number of vertices,16

16

Correct Answer:number of edges,24

24

Correct Answer:number of parallelogram faces,8

8

Correct Answer:number of octagonal faces,2

2

Correct Answer:number of total faces,10

10