What is the formula for the volume of a rectangular prism?

• A. V = l + w + h
• B. V = l * w / h
• C. V = l * w * h
• D. V = 3lwh

Answer: (C)

Volume is about how much empty space a 3D object contains. For a rectangular prism, you can think of filling it with unit cubes. If the length is l units, the width is w units, and the height is h units, you can lay out l rows by w columns on the base and stack h such layers. The total number of unit cubes is l × w × h, so the volume is V = l × w × h.

For example, a box that is 2 by 3 by 4 has volume 2 × 3 × 4 = 24 cubic units.

This formula uses the product of all three dimensions because volume scales with length, width, and height; adding dimensions or dividing by height wouldn’t measure space correctly, and multiplying by 3 would overcount space.