how to find the surface area of a triangular prism
How to find the surface area of a triangular prism
Answer:
To calculate the surface area of a triangular prism, you need to add up the areas of all its faces. A triangular prism has 5 faces: 2 triangular bases and 3 rectangular faces. Here is how you can find the surface area step by step:
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Calculate the area of one of the triangular bases:
- Start by finding the base of the triangle (b) and the height (h) of one of the triangular bases.
- Use the formula for the area of a triangle: A = \frac{1}{2} \times base \times height to calculate the area of one triangular base.
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Find the area of the three rectangular faces:
- The three rectangular faces are all the same size.
- To find the area of one rectangular face, multiply the base (b) by the height (h).
- Since there are 3 identical faces, you can calculate the total area by multiplying the area of one face by 3.
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Add the areas together:
- Add the areas of the two triangular bases and the three rectangular faces together to find the total surface area of the triangular prism.
By following these steps and formulas, you can accurately calculate the surface area of a triangular prism.