Answer:
172 cm²
Explanation:
The surface area of a rectangular prism is given by the formula
A = 2(w * l + h * l + h * w)
where w = width, h = height and l = length
Each prism shown in the figure has
l = 8, w = 2 and h = 3
It is obvious that the prisms should be joined so that the length is doubled for the surface area to be maximized
The surface area of each prism is 2(2 x 8 + 3 x 8 + 3 x 2) = 92
The new prism will have double the length but the same height and width
so l = 16, w = 2 and h =3
Area = 2(2 x 16 + 3 x 16 + 3 x 2) = 172 cm²