Surface Area of a Rectangular Pyramid. The surface area of a regular square pyramid is the sum of area of the base and area of four isosceles triangles. But for rectangular pyramid, with rectangular base, we can not use the standard formula of surface area because there is more than one slant height ($s_1$ and $s_2$).
Step 1. Drink plenty of water with your meals and between meals. Water helps soften your stool. If you do not drink enough fluids, your body will pull water from the colon, hardening the stools. Also avoid caffeinated beverages, which cause your body to lose water.
Softening Stool through Diet. 1  1. Drink more water. Dehydration can cause your body to extract as much water as it can as foods move through your digestive tract, producing dry, hard stool. 2  2. Eat foods that have slight laxative effects and are high in fiber. Some of these, like prunes, have sorbitol. 3  3. Eat more fiber.