To find the surface area of a rectangular prism, you need to calculate the area of each of the six faces and then add them up.
The top and bottom faces have dimensions 12 inches by 5 inches, so each has an area of 12 * 5 = 60 square inches. Since there are two of these faces, their combined area is 2 * 60 = 120 square inches.
The front and back faces have dimensions 12 inches by 3 inches, so each has an area of 12 * 3 = 36 square inches. Since there are two of these faces, their combined area is 2 * 36 = 72 square inches.
The right and left faces have dimensions 5 inches by 3 inches, so each has an area of 5 * 3 = 15 square inches. Since there are two of these faces, their combined area is 2 * 15 = 30 square inches.
Therefore, the total surface area of the rectangular prism is 120 (top and bottom) + 72 (front and back) + 30 (right and left) = 222 square inches.
The correct response is:
222 square inches