Can anyone help me with this Volume problem?

Question

I don't understand this and I want to to get an A on the test next Tuesday. Our math teacher never taught us nothing like this.

The volume of a rectangular prism is 480in³ What is the volume of a similar rectangular prism that had edge lengths 1/4 as long as the edge lengths of the original prism?

Thanks!

Answer 1

The volume of a rectangular prism is Volume = Length * Width * Height

If each of the lengths, was 1/4, then our new volume could be expressed as V₂ = (1/4)L * (1/4)W * (1/4)H

or V₂ = (1/4)³(L*W*H) = (1/4)(L*W*H).

So the volume would be 1/64 of the original volume, or 480/64 = 7.5 in³

Similarly, you doubled each of the sides it would be (2³)L*W*H or 8 (eight) times the original volume, because the change occurs in three dimensions.