Question

in 2-3 sentences explain why this is the correct answer like a twelve-year-old

Use the image to answer the question.

An illustration shows the unfolded version of a rectangular prism composed of 6 rectangles. There are four adjoining rectangles positioned horizontally. The first and third are similar and bigger. The second and fourth are similar and smaller. The area of the second rectangle is labeled 24 square inches. The third rectangle shares the top and bottom sides with two similar rectangles, one on each side. The area of the top rectangle is labeled as 54 square inches and the area of the third rectangle is labeled as 36 square inches.

What is the surface area of the rectangular prism?

228

Answer 1

[AI-generated answer — Bot GPT 3.5]

The surface area of the rectangular prism is 228 square inches because it is calculated by adding up the areas of all six rectangles on the unfolded version of the prism. Each of the four bigger rectangles contribute 54 square inches (2 rectangles) + 36 square inches (1 rectangle) = 144 square inches, and each of the two smaller rectangles contribute 24 square inches (1 rectangle) = 48 square inches. When you add them all up, you get 144 square inches + 48 square inches = 192 square inches for the four bigger rectangles, and 24 square inches + 24 square inches = 48 square inches for the two smaller rectangles. Finally, 192 square inches + 48 square inches = 228 square inches for the total surface area of the rectangular prism.