Question

Mr. Erickson will be living in the forest
until we return to school.
His tent is 5 ft wide (at the base), 3 ft tall,
and has a length of 8 ft.
How much living space will he have
inside his tent?

Answer 1

$\huge{\boxed{60\ \text{ft}^{3}}}$

We will assume the tent is in the shape of a triangular prism.

The volume of a triangular prism can be found with the following formula, where $b$ is the width at the base, $h$ is the height, and $l$ is the length.

$V=\frac{1}{2}bhl$

Substitute in the known values.

$V=\frac{1}{2}*5*3*8$

Simplify — use multiplication.

$V=\frac{5}{2}*3*8$

$V=\frac{15}{2}*8$

$V=\frac{120}{2}$

Simplify — use division.

$V=\large{\boxed{60\ \text{ft}^{3}}}$

The volume — or in this case, the amount of living space — is $60\ \text{cubic feet}$.