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How to Figure Out the Surface Area of a Rectangular Prism

A rectangular prism contains six two-dimensional rectangles of different surface areas and dimensional lengths, widths and heights. Each rectangular prism consist of three pairs of different rectangles, with each side having an identical shape on the opposite end of the prism. By knowing the height, length and width of the entire rectangular prism, you can figure out the surface area of a rectangular prism with a few simple calculations.

Instructions

- 1
  Multiply the length of the rectangular prism by its width to find the surface area of one of the two equal opposite sides. For example, if the length is 10 inches and the width is 2 inches, the surface area of the side would be 20 square inches (10 x 2 = 20).
- 2
  Multiply the prism's height by the width to find out the other side of the rectangular prism. For example, if the height was 5 inches and the width was 2 inches, the surface area for that side would be 10 square inches ( 5 x 2 = 10).
- 3
  Multiply the length of the prism by the height to obtain the third side of the rectangular prism. For example, if the prism had a length of 10 inches and height of 5 inches, the surface area of the given side would be 50 square inches (10 x 5 = 50).
- 4
  Add up the three answers found in Steps 1 to 3. For example, if the surface area of the three sides were 20, 10 and 50 square inches, the result would be 80 square inches.
- 5
  Multiply the sum from Step 4 by 2. Since there is an equal and opposite side for every side of the rectangular prism, you will need double the sum found in Step 4. For example, if your sum was 80 square inches, the total surface area of the rectangular prism would be 160 square inches (80 x 2 = 160).

Numerology