3D shape templatesTriangular prism
Triangular prism template
A net for a triangular prism: three long rectangles in a row with an equilateral triangle at each end. It is used in geometry lessons and for tent-shaped boxes or table cards.
- Set it up your way
- Print or PDF, Letter or A4
- Free, no sign-up
On this page
A triangular prism looks like a tent or a Toblerone bar. Two triangles form the ends and three rectangles join them. On a flat page, the rectangles line up in a row and the triangles hang off the middle one.
What prints
The sheet reads "Triangular Prism Template". Three rectangles stand side by side, each 120 units wide and 240 long at medium size, so each is twice as long as it is wide. An equilateral triangle sits on top of the middle rectangle and another underneath it. The triangle height is about 0.87 of its side.
Five grey glue tabs mark where to apply glue. The outer two rectangles each get a tab on the top and the bottom edge, and the right-hand rectangle gets one more on its free long side, which closes the tube. A key below shows the solid cut line, the dashed fold and the grey tab. There is no name field.
The settings
- Shape: Triangular prism.
- Size: Small, Medium or Large. Small is 0.75 of medium and Large is 1.2 times it, shrunk to fit if necessary.
The dice option shows for cubes only, so it does not appear here.
Folding it up
Crease all dashed lines before you glue. Fold the three rectangles into a triangular tube first, and use the long tab on the right to close it. Then fold each end triangle in and glue the end tabs behind it. The triangles are the trickiest part: press down with a pencil eraser while the glue sets.
A prism that stands on its own wants 65 to 110 lb card. Print at actual size. Blunt-tip scissors suit children; an adult should help with the final glue steps.
Worked example: a name tent for a meeting
Marcus organizes a volunteer lunch with twelve places. He prints the Small prism on card stock and writes each name in marker on the front rectangle before folding. The long rectangles are tall enough for a first name in large letters, and the prism's triangular cross-section keeps it from tipping.
On a quick check, he counts five faces, nine edges and six corners on each prism, and shows a student helper how the Euler count works: faces plus corners minus edges equals two. The same shape reappears in his daughter's geometry class, where the surface area and volume worksheets ask for the area of the two triangles plus the three rectangles.
Related templates
The cone template and cylinder template cover rolled solids, if you want to compare curved faces with flat ones.