Zach needs to paint all the sides and the tops of these steps, but not the bottom. How many square feet does he need to paint? Explain how you solved dimensions 2,2,4 and 2,2,2. Thanks

To find the total square footage that Zach needs to paint, we first need to calculate the surface area of each step.

Let's start with the dimensions 2, 2, 4:

Step 1: Identify the dimensions:
- Length: 2 feet
- Width: 2 feet
- Height: 4 feet

Step 2: Calculate the surface area of each side:
a) Front and back sides (Length x Height): 2 feet x 4 feet = 8 square feet
b) Left and right sides (Width x Height): 2 feet x 4 feet = 8 square feet
c) Top side (Length x Width): 2 feet x 2 feet = 4 square feet

Step 3: Calculate the total surface area by summing up all the sides:
8 square feet + 8 square feet + 4 square feet = 20 square feet

Therefore, for the dimensions 2, 2, 4, Zach needs to paint a total of 20 square feet.

Now let's move on to the dimensions 2, 2, 2:

Step 1: Identify the dimensions:
- Length: 2 feet
- Width: 2 feet
- Height: 2 feet

Step 2: Calculate the surface area of each side:
a) Front and back sides (Length x Height): 2 feet x 2 feet = 4 square feet
b) Left and right sides (Width x Height): 2 feet x 2 feet = 4 square feet
c) Top side (Length x Width): 2 feet x 2 feet = 4 square feet

Step 3: Calculate the total surface area by summing up all the sides:
4 square feet + 4 square feet + 4 square feet = 12 square feet

Therefore, for the dimensions 2, 2, 2, Zach needs to paint a total of 12 square feet.

In conclusion, to find the total square footage that Zach needs to paint, calculate the sum of the surface areas for each step using the given dimensions.