Pyramid ($V=Ah/3$)

A pyramid is a polyhedron with a polygon as its base and triangular faces joining the base edges to one apex outside the base plane. If its base area is $A$ and perpendicular height is $h$, its volume is $Ah/3$. At height $z$ above the base, similarity gives cross-sectional area $A(1-z/h{)}^2$. Integrating this area from $0$ to $h$ proves the formula.

A square pyramid has a square base. If the base edge has length $a$ and all four lateral edges have length $\ell >a/\sqrt{2}$, the apex lies above the base center. The center-to-vertex distance is $a/\sqrt{2}$, so the Pythagorean theorem gives $h=\sqrt{{\ell }^2-a^2/2}$. Its volume is $a^{2}h/3$. When all eight edges have the same length $a$, this reduces to $a^3/(3\sqrt{2})$.