Answer:
To find the surface area of a prism, the problem can be approached in one of two ways.
1. Through an equation that uses lateral area
2. Through finding the area of each side and taking the sum of all the faces
Using the second method, it's helpful to realize rectangular prisms contain 6 faces. With that, it's helpful to understand that there are 3 pairs of sides. That is, there are two faces with the same dimensions. Therefore, we really only have three sides for which we need to calculate areas:
Faces 1 & 2:
15⋅8=120
Faces 3 & 4:
6⋅8=48
Faces 5 & 6:
15⋅6=90
Now, we can add up the areas of all six sides:
120+120+48+48+90+90=516
The surface area is 516units2.
Step-by-step explanation:
