Final answer:
Tripling the length of a rectangular prism triples its volume, as the new volume becomes 3 times the original (3lwh). The surface area increases proportionately to the length but does not simply triple or increase by a factor of nine.
Step-by-step explanation:
If the length of a rectangular prism is tripled, then the volume of the rectangular prism is also tripled. To understand why, consider the formula for the volume of a rectangular prism, which is V = lwh (length times width times height). If the length (l) is tripled while the width (w) and height (h) remain constant, then the new volume will be 3lwh, which is three times the original volume (V). Therefore, B. The volume of the rectangular prism is tripled is the correct answer.
The surface area of a rectangular prism is calculated by summing the areas of all six faces. The formula for the surface area (SA) is SA = 2lw + 2lh + 2wh. Tripling the length affects the area of the faces that include the length dimension but not the faces with only width and height. Thus, the surface area does not triple or become nine times its original value. The increase in surface area is more than triple but less than nine times the original surface area.