What is a prism?
A prism is a solid shape with flat faces. The cube and the cuboid are prisms we see every day, like a dice or a box.
Key idea
A shape has faces (flat sides), edges (where two faces meet) and vertices (corners).
Cube and cuboid
A cube and a cuboid both have 6 faces, 12 edges and 8 vertices. Every face of a cube is a square.
Worked example
How many faces does a dice (a cube) have?
A cube has a top, a bottom and 4 sides. That is 2 + 4 = 6 faces.
Remember
- Cube: 6 faces, 12 edges, 8 vertices.
- A triangular prism has 5 faces (2 triangles and 3 rectangles).
- Vertices are the pointy corners.