Directions: What is the greatest volume you can make with a rectangular prism that has a surface area of 20 square units?
Hint
Hint
What shape maximizes volume in relation to surface area in rectangular prisms?
Answer
Answer
A cube has the maximum volume amongst rectangular prisms with the same surface area. So, a cube with a surface area of 20 square units has six sides that each have an area of 10/3 square units. The square root of 10/3 gives us the length of each side.
Source: Robert Kaplinsky