how to tell between length, height, and width?

Question

i'm not really having trouble with solving for volume. I mostly get confused with length and width. Is length the one from left to right? and is width the one that touches the front to back?

Answer 1

You can really assign any dimension to these values, depending on the orientation of the object. It's pretty arbitrary.

There are some conventions... If you have a picture of a 3D solid, length would be the horizontal dimension, height is the vertical dimension, and width is the dimension going back into the paper.

Answer 2

Well, the height could be how tall it is. Then, when you knock the object over, it now becomes the length... or the width... and the width becomes the height? Or is it the length? Dang!

To be honest, it doesn't matter which dimensions you call the length, width, or height is the object is a box. Now, if you're talking about a prism with other than a rectangular base (like a hexagonal prism), or a cylinder, or cones or pyramids, then the height most definitely matters. The height is perpendicular to the base.

With a box, cuboid, rectangular prism, whatever you wanna call it, all six faces form rectangles and each lateral face is perpendicular to whichever base you pick. Knocking over the box doesn't change the shape or mass of the box, so its size will remain constant. The formulas for volume and surface area will work no matter which edges you choose to represent the length, width, and height.

Answer 3

Really, there is no difference. They're just different ways for looking at what I just call length. However, depending on a person's perspective, you could say that there is a difference.
For a single view of a rectangular prism, length can be seen as "front to back" (or vice versa), height as "top to bottom" (or vice versa), and width as "left to right" (or vice versa). Still, when the view of the same rectangular prism is changed, a confusion among these terms may exist. So, instead of assigning variables L for length, H for height, and W for width, it might help to simple assign variables of the set {L1, L2, L3} on that prism (forgive the lack of subscripts, which I often can't put in here).
Just remember they're basically all the same; the writers of your mathematics book/tests/syllabus have really oversimplified this and gave these stupid designations that actually confuse people instead of facilitating their learning.

Answer 4

Traditionally.

Length is usually a linear measurement of a single dimension. (How long is this string)

Width is the measure across the shorter dimention of a construct of two or more dimensions (how wide is this plank)

Height is measured in the direction of the pull of gravety. (To have height, you need to know which way is down)

Now, in a 3 dimensional construct, you have height width and depth. Height is up/down (gravety again) width is 90 digrees away from the direction you're facing, and depth is in line with the way you're facing.

Answer 5

It doesn't matter: they are just words, and can be interchanged. By convention many people use the word DEPTH instead of "width", so you have length left to right, height up and down, depth front to back.

Answer 6

um....I'd guess the length would be how long something is. Height would be....oh...how tall it is....and.....width, I would guess that would be how WIDE it is.....but I'm really not too sure....see what someone else says.

Answer 7

Formulas work whether you choose one or the other. Some of them make it easier so the rule of thumb is to use the one that requires less steps.

Answer 8

lenght parrallel height vertical width how wide.

Answer 9

its doesnt really matter if you are solving volume.