Use the image to answer the question.
An illustration shows a rectangular prism with length 12 inches, width 5 inches, and height 3 inches. The top, front, and right faces are visible. The edges that are not visible are represented by dashed lines.
Solve for the surface area of the rectangular prism.
To solve for the surface area of the rectangular prism, we need to calculate the area of each face and then add them all together.
The top and bottom faces each have an area of length x width, so in this case, it would be 12 inches x 5 inches = 60 square inches for each face. Since there are two of these faces, their combined area would be 2 x 60 = 120 square inches.
The front and back faces each have an area of length x height, so in this case, it would be 12 inches x 3 inches = 36 square inches for each face. Since there are two of these faces, their combined area would be 2 x 36 = 72 square inches.
The right and left faces each have an area of width x height, so in this case, it would be 5 inches x 3 inches = 15 square inches for each face. Since there are two of these faces, their combined area would be 2 x 15 = 30 square inches.
Adding all these together, the total surface area of the rectangular prism would be:
120 + 72 + 30 = 222 square inches.
Therefore, the surface area of the rectangular prism is 222 square inches.