Final answer:
The surface area of a triangular prism can be found by adding the areas of all its faces. Use the formulas for finding the area of triangular and rectangular faces to calculate the surface area.
Step-by-step explanation:
The surface area of a triangular prism can be found by adding the areas of all its faces. A triangular prism has 2 triangular faces and 3 rectangular faces. To find the area of a triangular face, use the formula:
Area = 1/2 × base × height
For example, if the base of the triangular face is 8 cm and the height is 10 cm, the area would be:
Area = 1/2 × 8 cm × 10 cm = 40 cm²
The formula for finding the area of a rectangular face is:
Area = length × width
For example, if one rectangular face has a length of 12 cm and a width of 3 cm, the area would be:
Area = 12 cm × 3 cm = 36 cm²
Once you have found the areas of all the faces, simply add them together to get the total surface area of the triangular prism.