When a figure is dilated by a scale factor, the surface area of the new figure changes by the square of the scale factor.
In your case, the original rectangular prism has a surface area of 4 in² and is dilated with a scale factor of 3.
To find the surface area of the new dilated rectangular prism, you can use the following formula:
\[ \text{New Surface Area} = \text{Original Surface Area} \times (\text{Scale Factor})^2 \]
Substituting in the values:
\[ \text{New Surface Area} = 4 , \text{in}^2 \times (3)^2 \] \[ = 4 , \text{in}^2 \times 9 \] \[ = 36 , \text{in}^2 \]
Thus, the surface area of the new dilated rectangular prism would be 36 in².