Sue is wrapping books to give as gifts. Book A has a length of 6.5 inches, a width of 1 inch, and a height of 8.5 inches. Book B has a length of 5.5 inches, a width of 2 inches, and a height of 8 inches. Based on surface area, which book will require less wrapping paper?
To find the surface area of a cuboid, you need to calculate the area of each of its six faces and sum them up.
For Book A:
The area of the front and back faces is length * height = 6.5 * 8.5 = 55.25 square inches.
The area of the top and bottom faces is width * length = 1 * 6.5 = 6.5 square inches.
The area of the left and right faces is height * width = 8.5 * 1 = 8.5 square inches.
The total surface area of Book A is 2 * (55.25 + 6.5 + 8.5) = 136.5 square inches.
For Book B:
The area of the front and back faces is length * height = 5.5 * 8 = 44 square inches.
The area of the top and bottom faces is width * length = 2 * 5.5 = 11 square inches.
The area of the left and right faces is height * width = 8 * 2 = 16 square inches.
The total surface area of Book B is 2 * (44 + 11 + 16) = 142 square inches.
Therefore, Book A will require less wrapping paper.