Calculating the volume of enlarged or reduced objects using a scale factor can be done by multiplying the volume of the original object by the scale factor cubed.

Example 3

The volume of a pyramid is 64 m3 and the surface area of the same pyramid is 144 m2.

Determine the volume of a new, enlarged pyramid if the surface area of the new pyramid is double that of the original.

Original pyramid's surface area is 144 m2.

Determine the scale factor using the surface areas.

Determine the volume of the new, larger pyramid using the scale factor.

The volume of the enlarged pyramid will be approximately 181.02 m3.