calculateVolumeTriangularPrism()

Step 1: Understand the Problem

To begin, we need to understand the problem at hand, which requires understanding the geometry involved. A triangular prism is a 3D figure whose cross-section is a triangle. To calculate its volume, we use the formula: Base Area * Height.

Step 2: Declare the Function

Let's declare a function, calculateTriangularPrismVolume, in Java that will take three parameters: the base of the triangle, its height, and the height of the prism.

public static double calculateTriangularPrismVolume(double base, double triangleHeight, double prismHeight) {
   // code goes here
}

Step 3: Implement the Formula

Now, inside the function, apply the formula by first calculating the area of the triangle then multiplying it by the height of the prism.

public static double calculateTriangularPrismVolume(double base, double triangleHeight, double prismHeight) {
  double triangleArea = 0.5 * base * triangleHeight;
  double volume = triangleArea * prismHeight;
  return volume;
}

Step 4: Test the Function

It's a good practice to test the function with some values to make sure it is working as expected. For instance:

public static void main(String[] args) {
   double volume = calculateTriangularPrismVolume(5.0, 3.0, 10.0);
   System.out.println(volume);
}

The printed volume should be 75.0, which is what we expected. This indicates that our function is calculating the volume correctly.

Conclusion

Once you understand the problem and the geometry of the figure, it is pretty straightforward to write a function to calculate the volume using Java. The function should take the dimensions of the triangle and the prism height and return the resulting volume following the formula for the volume of a triangular prism.