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Geometry and Trigonometry Difficulty: Hard

The dimensions of a right rectangular prism are 4 inches by 5 inches by 6 inches. What is the surface area, in square inches, of the prism?

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Explanation

Choice D is correct. The surface area is found by summing the area of each face. A right rectangular prism consists of three pairs of congruent rectangles, so the surface area is found by multiplying the areas of three adjacent rectangles by 2 and adding these products. For this prism, the surface area is equal to 2 times, open parenthesis, 4 times 5, close parenthesis, plus, 2 times, open parenthesis, 5 times 6, close parenthesis, plus, 2 times, open parenthesis, 4 times 6, close parenthesis, or 2 times 20, plus, 2 times 30, plus, 2 times 24, which is equal to 148.

Choice A is incorrect. This is the area of one of the faces of the prism. Choice B is incorrect and may result from adding the areas of three adjacent rectangles without multiplying by 2. Choice C is incorrect. This is the volume, in cubic inches, of the prism.