What is a rectangular prism? Definition and examples

A rectangular prism is a prism whose base is a rectangle and the sides are also rectangles. The figure below shows a rectangular prism.

Other names given to rectangular prisms

• Rectangular solid

• Rectangular parallelepiped

• Right rectangular prism

• Cuboid

Properties of a rectangular prism

• A rectangular prism has six faces, 12 edges, and 8 vertices

• Opposite faces are congruent and parallel to each other

Real-life examples of rectangular pyramid

A rectangular prism is a very common geometric shape. Here are some real-life examples, just to mention a few.

• A brick commonly used to build walls or pathways

• A book such as a math book

• A cereal box

• A room

• A refrigerator

• A desktop computer tower

• A bookcase could have the same shape as a rectangular prism