A right pyramid has a square base with side length 10 cm. Its peak is 12 cm above the center of its base. What is the total surface area of the pyramid, in square centimeters?
Thanks in advance if you could help!
We can find the slant height of the side of the pyramid as sqrt [ (base/ 2)^2 + 12^2 ] =
sqrt ( 5^2 + 12^2) = sqrt (169) = 13
The area of the sides = the area of 4 congruent triangles with bases of 10 and slant heights = 13
So...the area of the sides = 4 (1/2) 10 * 13 = 260 cm^2
The area of the base is just the area of a square with a side of 10 = 10^2 = 100 cm^2
Total surface area = (260 + 100) cm^2 = 360 cm^2