Question

A tent company makes one type of tent that is shaped like a triangular prism. The approximate dimensions are 5ft, 6ft, 9ft and 5.5ft. Based on these dimensions, how much fabric is needed to make one tent, including floor.

Answer 1

Given:

The base of the triangle = 6 ft

The height of the triangle = 5 ft

The other two side of the triangle = 5.5 ft and 5.5 ft

The height of the prism = 9 ft

To find the measurement of the fabric to make the tent.

We need to find the surface area of the triangular prism.

Formula

The surface area of the triangular prism is

$SA = bh+(a+b+c)H$

where, b be the base of the triangle

h be the height of the triangle

a and c be other two sides of the triangle

H be the height of the prism

Now,

Putting,

b = 6, h = 5, a = 5.5, c = 5.5 and H = 9 we get,

$SA = (5)(6)+(6+5.5+5.5)(9)$ sq ft

or, $SA = 30+153$ sq ft

or, $SA = 183$ sq ft

Hence,

Based on the given dimension 183 sq ft fabric is needed to make the tent.