The height of a regular 4-angled pyramid is 6 cm and the formation with a side face is an angle
The height of a regular 4-angled pyramid is 6 cm and the formation with a side face is an angle of 30 degrees. Find the volume of the pyramid.
The volume of any pyramid can be found using the following formula:
V = 1 / 3SH, where S is the area of the base of the pyramid, H is its height.
The base of a regular quadrangular pyramid is a square. The side face, half of the base diagonal and the height of the pyramid form a right-angled triangle between themselves, where the side face is the hypotenuse. By the Pythagorean theorem
a² = b² + H², where a is the side face and b is half the diagonal of the base.
Opposite an angle of 30º in a right-angled triangle lies a leg equal to half of the hypotenuse. Knowing this, as well as the height of the pyramid, we write the equation in a new way and solve it:
(2b) ² = b² + 6²,
4b² – b² = 36,
3b² = 36,
b² = 12,
b = √12,
b = 2√3 cm.
We have found half of the base diagonal, and now we will find its full value:
d = 2√3 * 2 = 4√3 cm.
The area of the square across the diagonal is:
S = 1 / 2d².
Let’s find it:
S = ½ * (4√3) ² = ½ * 16 * 3 = 8 * 3 = 24 cm².
Now we can find the volume:
V = 1/3 * 24 * 6 = 48 cm³.
Answer: the volume of a regular quadrangular pyramid is 48 cm³.