What is the surface area of this rectangular prism 6” x 5” x 2”

Answer 1

Hi Kaitlyn!

The formula for surface area can be thought of like this: take each unique product of two dimensions, add them up, and multiply the sum by 2. For instance, the unique products here are:

6·5 = 5·6 = 30

6·2 = 2·6 = 12

5·2 = 2·5 = 10

SA = 2(30 + 12 + 10) = 104 in².

Each separate product represents the area of one face of the rectangular prism. There are three sets of identical faces in a rectangular prism, each pair on opposite sides.

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