Use the image to answer the question.

An illustration shows a triangular prism. The front triangular face is visible. The right rectangular face is visible. The visible rectangular face has a width of 5 centimeters and length of 11 centimeters. The sides and edges that are not visible are indicated by dashed lines. The legs of the triangular face are labeled 3 centimeters and 4 centimeters. The hypotenuse shares the same label as the width of the visible rectangular face.

What is the surface area of the triangular prism?

(1 point)
square centimeters
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yes please

1 answer

To calculate the surface area of the triangular prism, we need to find the area of the triangular face and the areas of the three rectangular faces.

  1. Area of the triangular face: Given that the legs of the triangular face are 3 cm and 4 cm, we can use the formula for the area of a right triangle:

    \[ \text{Area} = \frac{1}{2} \times \text{base} \times \text{height} = \frac{1}{2} \times 3 \text{ cm} \times 4 \text{ cm} = 6 \text{ cm}^2 \]

  2. Area of the rectangular faces: The prism has three rectangular faces:

    • The first rectangular face (base area), which has a width of 5 cm and a height of 11 cm: \[ \text{Area}_{\text{rect1}} = \text{length} \times \text{width} = 11 \text{ cm} \times 5 \text{ cm} = 55 \text{ cm}^2 \]

    • The second rectangular face, which corresponds to the leg of the triangle of 3 cm and the length of the prism (11 cm): \[ \text{Area}_{\text{rect2}} = \text{leg1} \times \text{length} = 3 \text{ cm} \times 11 \text{ cm} = 33 \text{ cm}^2 \]

    • The third rectangular face, which corresponds to the leg of the triangle of 4 cm and the length of the prism (11 cm): \[ \text{Area}_{\text{rect3}} = \text{leg2} \times \text{length} = 4 \text{ cm} \times 11 \text{ cm} = 44 \text{ cm}^2 \]

  3. Total surface area: Now, we can sum the areas of the triangular face and the three rectangular faces:

    \[ \text{Total Surface Area} = \text{Area}{\text{triangle}} + \text{Area}{\text{rect1}} + \text{Area}{\text{rect2}} + \text{Area}{\text{rect3}} \]

    \[ \text{Total Surface Area} = 6 \text{ cm}^2 + 55 \text{ cm}^2 + 33 \text{ cm}^2 + 44 \text{ cm}^2 = 138 \text{ cm}^2 \]

Thus, the surface area of the triangular prism is 138 square centimeters.