The tent below is similar to a triangular prism. Calculate the surface area of the tent to find the amount of fabric needed to make the tent.

Question

A tent is shaped like a triangular prism. Its bases have a height measuring 4 feet and a base measuring 5 feet. The faces have a length measuring 8 feet and a width measuring 4.75 feet.

Remember to describe each face of the triangle prism
In simple terms less than 2,000 words

Answer 1

To calculate the surface area of the triangular prism tent, we first need to find the area of each face and then add them together.

The tent has 3 faces: two triangular faces and three rectangular faces.

Triangular Faces:
The triangular faces have a base of 5 feet and a height of 4 feet. To find the area of a triangle, you use the formula: area = 1/2 * base * height. So for each triangular face, the area would be:
1/2 * 5 ft * 4 ft = 10 sq ft

Since there are two triangular faces, the total area for both would be:
10 sq ft + 10 sq ft = 20 sq ft

Rectangular Faces:
The rectangular faces have a length of 8 feet and a width of 4.75 feet. To find the area of a rectangle, you use the formula: area = length * width. So for each rectangular face, the area would be:
8 ft * 4.75 ft = 38 sq ft

Since there are three rectangular faces, the total area for all three would be:
38 sq ft + 38 sq ft + 38 sq ft = 114 sq ft

Now, to find the total surface area of the tent, we add the areas of all the faces together:
20 sq ft (triangular faces) + 114 sq ft (rectangular faces) = 134 sq ft

Therefore, the total surface area of the tent is 134 square feet. This is the amount of fabric needed to make the tent.