Surface Area of a Rectangular Prism
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Examples, videos, worksheets, stories, and solutions to help Grade 6 students learn how to find the surface area of a prism.
Surface Area of Rectangular Prism
The surface area of a prism is the total area of all its faces. A prism is a three-dimensional solid with two identical, parallel polygonal bases and rectangular faces connecting corresponding sides of these bases.
A net is a 2D flattened version of a 3D shape that shows all its faces. For a rectangular prism, the net consists of 6 rectangles (or squares) arranged in a way that they can be folded to form the prism.
The following diagram shows how to get the formula for the surface area of a rectangular prism by visualizing its net. Scroll down the page for more examples and solutions for the surface area of a rectangular prism.
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Steps to Find Surface Area Using a Net
-
Identify the Net:
A rectangular prism’s net has:
3 pairs of identical rectangles (front/back, left/right, top/bottom).
Total of 6 faces. -
Label Dimensions:
Let the prism have dimensions:
Length (L), Width (W), Height (H).
On the net, label each rectangle with its correct dimensions. -
Calculate the Area of Each Face:
Front/Back Faces: L × H
Left/Right Faces: W × H
Top/Bottom Faces: L × W -
Sum All Areas:
Total Surface Area = 2(LW) + 2(LH) + 2(WH)
Find Surface Area Using a Formula
This is the Surface Area formula that can be applied to any type of prism (rectangular prism, triangular prism etc.).
SA = 2 × Base Area + Perimeter of Base × Height of Prism
Base Area: Area of one base (shape depends on prism type).
Perimeter of Base: Sum of all sides of the base.
Height of Prism: Distance between the two bases (also called length).
How develop the formula for the Surface Area of a Rectangular Prism?
Step by step procedure to finding surface area of a rectangular prism.
How to find the surface area of a rectangular prism with smiley guy?
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