A rectangular prism has a base area of 36 cm². If its height is increased by 25% from the original height of 12 cm, what is the new volume?

The correct answer is 540 cm³.

Step 1: Understand the formula for the volume of a rectangular prism.
The volume $V$ of a rectangular prism is given by the formula:

$V=\text{Base Area}\times \text{Height}$

Step 2: Find the new height after the 25% increase.
The original height of the rectangular prism is $12\text{cm}$.
An increase of 25% on the original height is calculated as:

$\text{Increase}=12\times 0.25=3\text{cm}$

$\text{New Height}=12+3=15\text{cm}$

Step 3: Calculate the new volume of the prism.
Given that the base area is $36{\text{cm}}^2$ and the new height is $15\text{cm}$, we substitute these values into the volume formula:

$\text{New Volume}=36\times 15$

$\text{New Volume}=540{\text{cm}}^3$

Thus, the new volume of the rectangular prism is 540 cm³.