A rectangular prism has length of 2 feet, a width of 3 feet, and a height of 4 feet. What is the surface area of the rectangular prism? Draw a net to help you find your answer.(1 point)

Question

square feet answer

Answer 1

To find the surface area of a rectangular prism, you can use the formula:

\[ \text{Surface Area} = 2lw + 2lh + 2wh \]

where:

• \( l \) is the length,
• \( w \) is the width,
• \( h \) is the height.

For this rectangular prism:

• Length (\( l \)) = 2 feet
• Width (\( w \)) = 3 feet
• Height (\( h \)) = 4 feet

Now plug in the values:

1. Calculate \( 2lw \): \[ 2lw = 2 \times 2 \times 3 = 12 \text{ square feet} \]

2. Calculate \( 2lh \): \[ 2lh = 2 \times 2 \times 4 = 16 \text{ square feet} \]

3. Calculate \( 2wh \): \[ 2wh = 2 \times 3 \times 4 = 24 \text{ square feet} \]

Now, sum these areas to find the total surface area:

\[ \text{Surface Area} = 12 + 16 + 24 = 52 \text{ square feet} \]

Final Answer

The surface area of the rectangular prism is 52 square feet.

Drawing a Net

To visualize the surface area, you can draw a net for the rectangular prism. A net consists of 6 rectangles corresponding to each face of the prism. Here’s a description of the net:

1. Draw two rectangles of size \( 2 \times 3 \) (front and back faces).
2. Draw two rectangles of size \( 2 \times 4 \) (left and right faces).
3. Draw two rectangles of size \( 3 \times 4 \) (top and bottom faces).

When laid out flat, the rectangles will help you visualize the surface area calculation.