calculateVolumeTrapezoidalPrism()

Step 1: Understand the Shape Geometry

First, we need to understand the shape of the trapezoidal prism to be able to calculate its volume. The base of the prism is a trapezium and the height is the 'length' of the prism. A trapezium is like a squashed square and has two parallel sides that are different lengths. For calculating the volume of a trapezoidal prism, we need the length (the height of the prism), and the areas of the two parallel sides of the trapezium.

The formula for the volume of a trapezoidal prism is:

V = 1/2 * (a + b) * h * l

where:

• V is the volume,
• a is the length of the shorter parallel side of the trapezium,
• b is the length of the longer parallel side of the trapezium,
• h is the height of the trapezoid, and
• l is the length of the prism.

Step 2: Define the Function

Next, let's start by defining the function in JavaScript. For now, the function will take four arguments: shortSide, longSide, height, and length.

function calculateVolumeTrapezoidalPrism(shortSide, longSide, height, length) {
   // function implementation will go here
}

Step 3: Calculate the Area

We will calculate the area of the trapezium next. This can be done using the formula mentioned above, but leaving out the length for now as we're calculating the area of the trapezoid base, not the volume yet.

function calculateVolumeTrapezoidalPrism(shortSide, longSide, height, length) {
    var area = 1/2 * (shortSide + longSide) * height;
}

Step 4: Calculate the Volume

After calculating the area, we just need to multiply it by the length to get the volume of the trapezoidal prism. We'll use the formula mentioned above to calculate the volume.

function calculateVolumeTrapezoidalPrism(shortSide, longSide, height, length) {
    var area = 1/2 * (shortSide + longSide) * height;
    var volume = area * length;
}

Step 5: Return the Volume

The last thing the function needs to do is return the volume so that it can be used.

function calculateVolumeTrapezoidalPrism(shortSide, longSide, height, length) {
    var area = 1/2 * (shortSide + longSide) * height;
    var volume = area * length;
    return volume;
}

Conclusion

That's it! You now have a function in JavaScript that can calculate the volume of any trapezoidal prism, given the lengths of its two parallel sides, its height, and the length of the prism.

We have:

1. Understood the shape and how to calculate its volume.
2. Defined a function and the inputs it requires.
3. Calculated the area of the trapezium.
4. Calculated the volume of the trapezoidal prism.
5. Returned the volume as the output of the function.

The complete function is:

function calculateVolumeTrapezoidalPrism(shortSide, longSide, height, length) {
    var area = 1/2 * (shortSide + longSide) * height;
    var volume = area * length;
    return volume;
}