Browse · MATH
Printjmc
geometry senior
Problem
A right square pyramid with base edges of length units each and slant edges of length 10 units each is cut by a plane that is parallel to its base and 3 units above its base. What is the volume, in cubic units, of the new pyramid that is cut off by this plane? 
Solution
Define the points , , , and , , and as shown so that is perpendicular to the base of the pyramid. Segment is a leg of the isosceles right triangle whose hypotenuse is . Therefore, . Applying the Pythagorean theorem to triangle gives . Since , this implies that . By the similarity of and , we find . The diagonal of the smaller square is , so its area is . The volume of the pyramid is cubic units.
Final answer
32