Volume of Composite Shapes

A composite solid is made by joining rectangular prisms together or by cutting a piece out of one. This NSW Year 7 maths subtopic (NESA outcome MA4‑VOL‑C‑01) shows how to find its volume by splitting it into simpler prisms.

You will split L-shaped and T-shaped solids into prisms and add their volumes, subtract a hole or groove from a whole block, use \(V = A \times h\) when the same face runs right through the solid, and find a missing length from a known volume. Concrete steps, planter boxes and garden sheds are real examples. It is part of Year 7 Area and Volume.