If the areas of adjacent faces of a cuboid (rectangular prism) are in the ratio of 2 : 3 : 5 and its volume is $900\, cm^3$, then the length of the longest side is
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → 15 cm
Let the sides of the cuboid be a, b, c.
Adjacent face areas are:
- $ab : bc : ca = 2 : 3 : 5$
So, let:
$ab = 2k,\quad bc = 3k,\quad ca = 5k$
Step 1: Find the volume
$\text{Volume} = abc$
Multiply the three equations:
$(ab)(bc)(ca) = (abc)^2 = (2k)(3k)(5k) = 30k^3$
$(abc)^2 = 30k^3$
Given volume $abc = 900$:
$900^2 = 30k^3$
$810000 = 30k^3$
$k^3 = 27000 \Rightarrow k = 30$
Step 2: Find the sides
$ab = 2k = 60,\quad bc = 3k = 90,\quad ca = 5k = 150$
Now:
$a = \sqrt{\frac{ab \cdot ac}{bc}} = \sqrt{\frac{60 \cdot 150}{90}} = \sqrt{100} = 10$
$b = \sqrt{\frac{ab \cdot bc}{ca}} = \sqrt{\frac{60 \cdot 90}{150}} = \sqrt{36} = 6$
$c = \sqrt{\frac{bc \cdot ca}{ab}} = \sqrt{\frac{90 \cdot 150}{60}} = \sqrt{225} = 15$
Step 3: Longest side
$15\ \text{cm}$