Answer:
To find the surface area of a triangular prism, you need to calculate the areas of each face and add them together.
1. Find the area of the triangular bases:
- The base of a triangle is given by the formula: (base x height) / 2.
- In this case, the base of each triangle is 5.5 and the height is 8.
- So, the area of each triangular base is (5.5 x 8) / 2 = 22 square units.
2. Find the area of the three rectangular faces:
- The area of a rectangle is given by the formula: length x width.
- In this case, the length is 7 and the width is 5.5.
- So, the area of each rectangular face is 7 x 5.5 = 38.5 square units.
3. Add up the areas of all the faces:
- There are two triangular bases, so their total area is 2 x 22 = 44 square units.
- There are three rectangular faces, so their total area is 3 x 38.5 = 115.5 square units.
4. Finally, add the areas together:
- The total surface area of the triangular prism is 44 + 115.5 = 159.5 square units.
So, the surface area of the given triangular prism with a length of 7, a width of 5.5, and a height of 8 is 159.5 square units.
Explanation: