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Geometry and Trigonometry Difficulty: Hard

A cube has a surface area of 54 square meters. What is the volume, in cubic meters, of the cube?

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Explanation

Choice B is correct. The surface area of a cube with side length s is equal to 6 s squared. Since the surface area is given as 54 square meters, the equation 54 equals, 6 s squared can be used to solve for s. Dividing both sides of the equation by 6 yields 9 equals, s squared. Taking the square root of both sides of this equation yields 3 equals s and negative 3, equals s. Since the side length of a cube must be a positive value, s equals, negative 3 can be discarded as a possible solution, leaving s equals 3. The volume of a cube with side length s is equal to s cubed. Therefore, the volume of this cube, in cubic meters, is 3 cubed, or 27.

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect and may result from calculation errors.