Question

Which expression can be used the surface area of the prism? 2(20*8)+2(20*3)+2(8*3)

Answer 1

The expression that can be used to find the surface area of the prism is
`\(2(20 * 8) + 2(20 * 3) + 2(8 * 3)\)`.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the surface area of a prism, we sum the areas of all its individual faces. For a rectangular prism, the formula for surface area involves adding the areas of the six faces. The expression provided,
`\(2(20 * 8) + 2(20 * 3) + 2(8 * 3)\)`, corresponds to this calculation.

Breaking it down:

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`\(2(20 * 8)\)` calculates the areas of the two larger rectangular faces (length times width) and multiplies by 2 because there are two such faces.

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`\(2(20 * 3)\)` computes the areas of the two medium-sized rectangular faces (length times height) and multiplies by 2 for the two identical faces.

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`\(2(8 * 3)\)` finds the areas of the two smaller rectangular faces (width times height) and multiplies by 2 for the two identical faces.

By adding these calculations together, we get the total surface area of the prism, considering the areas of all its individual rectangular faces. This expression accounts for the surface area formula of a rectangular prism, incorporating the areas of each face according to their dimensions.