Use the image to answer the question.

Question

An illustration shows the unfolded version of a rectangular prism composed of 6 rectangles. There are four adjoining rectangles positioned horizontally. The first and third are similar and bigger. The second and fourth are similar and smaller. The first rectangle is labeled 7 inches on the top horizontally. The second rectangle is labeled as 3 inches on the top and 5 inches vertically. The third rectangle shares the top and bottom sides with two similar rectangles, one on each side.

What is the surface area of the rectangular prism?

Answer 1

To find the surface area of the rectangular prism, we need to calculate the area of each of the 6 rectangles and then add them up.

Rectangle 1: 7 inches x 5 inches = 35 square inches
Rectangle 2: 3 inches x 5 inches = 15 square inches
Rectangle 3: 7 inches x 5 inches = 35 square inches
Rectangle 4: 3 inches x 5 inches = 15 square inches
Rectangle 5: 7 inches x 3 inches = 21 square inches
Rectangle 6: 7 inches x 3 inches = 21 square inches

Adding all the areas together:

35 + 15 + 35 + 15 + 21 + 21 = 142 square inches

Therefore, the surface area of the rectangular prism is 142 square inches.