Surface Area of a Rectangular Prism

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Surface Area: Learn

Surface Area is the combined area of all two-dimensional surfaces of a shape. Just like ordinary area, the units are the squares of the units of length (that is, if a shape's sides are measured in meters, then the shape's area is measured in square meters).

A rectangular prism has six faces (flat surfaces), but they are not all identical. The opposite faces are identical, which means we have 3 sets of 2 faces to calculate, and then we add them all together.

For example, here is a rectangular prism with side lengths of 3m, 4m, and 5m.

prism

Each face of the prism has an area that is some combination of 3*4, 4*5, or 3*5. To account for all six faces, we need two copies of each combination, all added together:

3*4	*2	=	24m²
4*5	*2	=	40m²
3*5	*2	=	30m²
Total:			94m²

Surface Area: Practice

00:00

What is the surface area of a prism whose side lengths are
cm, cm, and cm?

cm²

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