Cavalieri's Principle
Learn how Cavalieri's Principle helps you compare volumes of 3D shapes with the same height and cross-sectional area. Let's get started! 🚀

Video Lesson
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Flashcards
Review key concepts visually
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🛎️ Cavalieri’s Principle in Real Life
- Imagine two stacks made from the same number of slices.
- If each slice has the same area, the stacks have the same volume.
- Rearranging the slices does not change the volume of the stack.
🛎️ What Is Cavalieri’s Principle?
- Two solids can look different but still have the same volume.
- They must have the same height.
- They must have the same cross-sectional area at every level.
🛎️ Use Cavalieri’s Principle to Find Volume
- At each height, a tilted prism has the same cross-sectional area as an upright prism with the same base area.
- So by Cavalieri’s principle they have the same volume, and you can use V = base area × height.
🛎️ Checking Equal Volume Using Cavalieri’s Principle
- Compare the height and the cross-sectional area at matching levels.
- If they match all the way up, the solids have equal volume.
Practice Questions
Test your understanding
If two solids have the same height and identical cross-sectional areas at the same height, what can we conclude about their volumes?
Correct! 🎉 +10 pointsNot quite right
According to Cavalieri's principle, if two solids have the same height and their cross-sectional areas are identical at every height, they will have the same volume.
A cylinder has a height of and a cross-sectional area of . A rectangular prism has the same height of and a cross-sectional area of . Do they have the same volume?
Correct! 🎉 +10 pointsNot quite right
According to Cavalieri's principle, since both solids have the same height and cross-sectional area, they will have the same volume, regardless of the shape of the cross-sections.
Two solids have the same cross-sectional area of at every height. The first solid has a height of , and the second solid has a height of . Do they have the same volume?
Correct! 🎉 +20 pointsNot quite right
According to Cavalieri's principle, if two solids have the same height and their cross-sectional areas are identical at every height, they will have the same volume.
Two solids have a height of . One has a square cross-section with an area of , and the other has a circular cross-section with the same area of . What can you conclude about their volumes?
Correct! 🎉 +20 pointsNot quite right
According to Cavalieri's principle, the volumes of two solids will be the same if they have the same height and identical cross-sectional areas at every height, regardless of the shape of the cross-sections.
Two solids have the same height of . The first solid has a cross-sectional area of at every height, and the second solid has a cross-sectional area of at every height. Do they have the same volume?
Correct! 🎉 +20 pointsNot quite right
Although the solids have the same height, the cross-sectional areas differ. According to Cavalieri's principle, this means they will have different volumes.
A stack of toast has a height of , and its cross-sectional area is at each level. Another stack has the same height but a cross-sectional area of at each level. Using Cavalieri's principle, what can we conclude about the volumes of these two stacks?
Correct! 🎉 +30 pointsNot quite right
Since the heights are the same and the cross-sectional area of the second stack is larger, it will have a greater volume, according to Cavalieri's principle.
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Interactive Activity
Tilt a prism to see how Cavalieri's Principle keeps the volume the same regardless of slant
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