Distance Education for Elementary Schools

Self- Instructional Materials

Surface Area of Skill:
a Rectangular Prism

Department of Education
BUREAU OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
2ND Floor Bonifacio , Building
Dep Ed Complex, Meralco Avenue
Pasig City
 SURFACE AREA OF A RECTANGULAR PRISM

Objective: Find the surface area of a rectangular prism

Review

Find the area of the following plane figures. Write your answers on your
notebook.

1. A = _____
5 dm

12 dm

2. A = _____
4 dm

6 dm

3. A = _____

17 cm

7 cm

4. A = _____

8.2 mm

4.3 mm

5. A = _____

5m

7m

1
 Study and Learn

Read the problem.

The surface area of a solid figure is the sum of the areas of all its faces.

The surface area of a rectangular solid which is also called rectangular prism is
the sum of the areas of all the faces.

height = 3 cm

width = 5 cm

length = 10 cm

How many faces does the figure have? (6)

How many vertices are there? (8)
How many edges are there? (12)
What can you say about the faces? Are they all the same? (No)

To visualize clearly the faces of the rectangular prism, we will unfold the figure.
SIDE (E)
F B
R T B O
O O A T
10 cm N P C T 10 cm
T K O
M
(A) (B) (C) (D)

3 cm 5 cm 3 cm SIDE (F) 3 cm
5 cm
Which pairs of faces are the same in size and shape?
(Front and Back; Top and Bottom; right side and left side)
What plane figures do the faces of rectangular prism represent?
(rectangle)
How do you get the area of a rectangle?
(A = base x height or length x width)
To find the surface area of the figure, we need to find the sum of the areas
of the 6 faces of the rectangular prism.

2
 Face Area of Face (cm2)
A 10 x 3 = 30
B 10 x 5 = 50
C 10 x 3 = 30
D 10 x 5 = 50
E 5 x 3 = 15
F 5 x 3 = 15
TOTAL 190

The surface area of the figure is 190 cm2.

We can also solve the same problem this way:

We know that:
1. the bottom and top faces have the same dimensions, 10 cm by 5 cm
2. the left and right faces (sides) have the same dimensions, 5 cm by 3 cm
3. the front and back faces have the same dimensions, 10 cm by 3 cm

Using the area formula for a rectangle, A = bh, we have

1. for bottom and top faces

A = (10)(5)
= 50 cm2
50 x 2 = 100 cm2

2. for left and right faces (sides)

A = (5)(3)
= 15 cm2
15 x 2 = 30 cm2

3. for front and back faces

A = (10)(3)
= 30 cm2
30 x 2 = 60 cm2

Adding these areas to find the surface area, we have

100 cm2 – bottom and top

30 cm2 – left and right
60 cm2 – front and back
190 cm2 – surface area

3
Is this the same answer as the one obtained earlier?

To solve for the surface area of a rectangular prism, we can use a formula.

SA = 2(lw) + 2(wh) + 2(lh) or 2 (lw + wh + lh)

Where SA = surface area

l = length
w = width
h = height

For the example we did earlier:

l = 10 cm; w = 5 cm; h = 3 cm

SA = 2(lw) + 2(wh) + 2(lh) SA = 2(lw + wh + lh)

= 2(10)(5) + 2(5)(3) + 2(10)(3) = 2[(10)(5) + (5)(3) + (10)(3)]
= 2(50 cm2) + 2(15 cm2) + 2(30 cm2) = 2(50 + 15 + 30)
= 100 cm2 + 30 cm2 + 60 cm2 = 2(95 cm2)
= 190 cm2 = 190 cm2

Which method is easiest for you?

Do you want to try using that method? Let’s answer the exercises under using
that method.

Try These

A. Find the surface area of the following rectangular prisms. Write your answer
on your notebook.

1) E

4 cm A B C D 4 cm

1 cm F 1 cm 3 cm
3 cm

4
 T
2)

5 cm P Q R S 5 cm

4 cm 4 cm 2 cm
U
4 cm 4 cm

2 cm

3)
2.1 m

5.3 m

8.4 m

4) 5)

5 dm
8 dm
11 m
7 dm 7m

3m

B. Complete the following charts. Copy and answer on your notebook.

2
Rectangular Prism Area of Each Face (m ) Total
Surface
Length Width Height Front Back Left Right Top Bottom
Area
1) 9 m 4m 7m
2) 3.4 m 1.6 m 7.2 m
3) 10 m 4m 8m
4) 7 m 8m 12 m
5) 5 m 11 m 9m

C. Find the surface area of each box. Write the letter of the correct answer
corresponding to the surface area in the box.

1) 2) 3)
l=9m l = 11 l = 12
w=6m w = 12 w=7
h=8m h = 10 h=4

5
4) 5)
l=5 l = 14
w=7 w = 12
h=3 h = 13

SURFACE BOARD (m2)

A T G E R S
142 1,012 348 320 724 189

Wrap Up

The surface area of a solid figure is the sum of the areas of all its
faces.

The surface area of a rectangular prism is the sum of the faces of

its 6 faces.

 We have two ways of getting the surface area of a rectangular

prism.
 One is by unfolding the figure and finding the area of each
faces then adding all of these.
 Another is by using the formula, SA = 2(lw) + 2(wh) + 2(lh) or
2(lw + wh + lh).

6
 On Your Own

A. Find the surface area of each of the following figures. Write your answer on
your notebook.

1. 2. 3.

23 cm
12 dm
6m
20 cm 4m

25 cm 8m
8 dm

5 dm

B. Find the surface of the following prisms. Write your answer on your
notebook.

1) 4)

5 cm
5 dm
7 dm

3 cm 12 dm
4 cm

2) 5) 3 mm

12 mm
6 cm
21 mm
5 cm
4 cm

3)
8 mm

5 mm
15 mm
7
C. Read, analyze and solve. Write your answer on your notebook.

1. A wooden cabinet needs repainting. How much surface area needs to be

painted if the box has a length of 75 cm, width of 45 cm, and height of 35
cm?

2. What is the surface area of a rectangular solid that is 9.2 cm by 7.5 cm by

2.7 cm?

Check your answer with the answer key.

If you get…

8-10 Excellent! You may now proceed to the next lesson.

5-7 You need to review the processes you missed.
0-4 You need to repeat the whole process. Ask your teacher or elder to
help you.

8
Key to Correction
COMPREHENSION OF SURFACE AREA

REVIEW

1) 60 dm2
2) 24 dm2
3) 119 cm2
4) 35.26 mm2
5) 35 m2

TRY THESE

A.
1) 38 cm2
2) 76 cm2
3) 146.58 m2
4) 262 dm2
5) 262 m2

B.
Rectangular Prism Area of Each Face (m2) Total
Surface
Length Width Height Front Back Left Right Top Bottom
Area
1) 9 m 4m 7m 63 63 28 28 36 36 254
2) 3.4 m 1.6 m 7.2 m 24.48 24.48 11.52 11.52 5.44 5.44 82.88
3) 10 m 4m 8m 80 80 32 32 40 40 304
4) 7 m 8m 12 m 84 84 96 96 56 56 472
5) 5 m 11 m 9m 45 45 99 99 55 55 398

C.
1) G 2) R 3) E 4) A 5) T!

ON YOUR OWN

A.
1) 392 dm2
2) 3 070 cm2
3) 208 m2

B.
1) 94 cm2 2) 148 cm2 3) 470 cm2 4) 358 dm2 5) 702 mm2

C.
1) 15 150 cm2 2) 228.18 cm2