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.
1. Top and bottom faces:
- Area = length * width
- Area = 2 feet * 3 feet = 6 square feet (for each face)
- Total area for both top and bottom faces = 2 * 6 square feet = 12 square feet
2. Front and back faces:
- Area = length * height
- Area = 2 feet * 4 feet = 8 square feet (for each face)
- Total area for both front and back faces = 2 * 8 square feet = 16 square feet
3. Left and right faces:
- Area = width * height
- Area = 3 feet * 4 feet = 12 square feet (for each face)
- Total area for both left and right faces = 2 * 12 square feet = 24 square feet
Now, add up the total area of all faces:
12 square feet (top and bottom) + 16 square feet (front and back) + 24 square feet (left and right) = 52 square feet
Therefore, the surface area of the rectangular prism is 52 square feet.
To help visualize this, below is the net diagram of the rectangular prism:
```
+-------+
/ /|
/ / |
+-------+ |
| | +-------+
| | / /
| |/ /
+-------+-------+
```
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.
__ square feet
1 answer
1 answer