Slice a box 8 by 5 by 2 parallel to the front

Step by step

The question

Question: what shape is the cut, if we slice a box 8 by 5 by 2 parallel to the front, and what is its area?

A cross section is the flat face we see when we slice a solid.

1 Look at the cut

Here is the box.

We slice it parallel to the front.

The red face is the cut.

2 Name the shape

Flat, the cut looks like this.

The cut is the same as the front face: a rectangle.

So it is a rectangle.

Careful!

Picture the flat face where the knife went through.

3 Find its area

A rectangle's area is length times width: 16.

4 Check

Let's check: look at the box from the side.

You see a rectangle, the same as the cut through the middle.

So the answer is right!

Let's look back.

First: look at the cut.

Then: name the shape.

Then: find its area.

Last: check.