Therefore, the minimum gift wrap required is 0.27 m 2 The next step is to build an equation for the surface area of the gift box which is in the shape of a rectangular prism:Ī = 2(width × length) + 2(length × height) + 2(height × width)Ībbreviations for width is w for length is l and for height is h. We will begin by using the surface area formula to estimate the minimum wrapping paper that will be needed. Can you find the total number of books that can be accommodated in the box and the minimum amount of wrapping paper that would be needed? Do you know how many books are in the box? The gift box has 100 books of science jokes. Let’s take an example: You have been asked to gift wrap a box for a friend of yours. Now let’s recast the formula for a better understanding: For finding surface area we must know the width, length, and height of the rectangular prism and then apply the following formula:Ī = 2(width × length) + 2(length × height) + 2(height × width)Ībbreviations for width is w for length is l, and for height is h. Surface Area of a Rectangular Prism Formulaįor finding the surface area of rectangular prisms, the operation of both addition and multiplication takes place. If we have a cube, finding the area of one face allows you to find the total surface area of the geometric figure accuracy which will be six times the area of one face. The surface area of a rectangular prism is equal to the total area of all six faces. What is the Surface Area of a Rectangular Prism? The total surface area, in this case, comes out to be 6 × 16 = 96 square units. With the help of the net, it can be seen that there are 6 faces in total. In this case, the surface area of one of its faces comes out to be 4 × 4 = 16 square units. Let’s take an example, consider the length of one side of the cube as 4 units. Using a Net for Computing the Surface Area of a Rectangular Prismįinding the areas of all of the rectangles and squares of the net of a rectangular prism and then adding these values of areas results in the surface area of the rectangular prism. Let's try and pull this rectangular prism apart to see what surfaces we need to cover! Once, you pull the surfaces completely apart you will see that Nets of rectangular prisms are made up of rectangular and square shapes. The net of any geometrical is obtained when it is unfolded along its edges and its faces are laid out in a pattern in two dimensions. The surface area of an object is said to be equal to the number of square units needed to cover all of the surfaces of that object.

Right rectangular prism