Look for three numbers such that their product equals 80. Could you think of another set of numbers?
Example prisms: 2 cm by 5 cm by 8 cm and 2 cm by 4 cm by 10 cm.
Practice makes perfect
Let's begin by writing the formulas to find the volume and the surface area of a rectangular prism. Here, we can be specific since the area of the base is width times length.
We are asked for two prisms with a volume of 80 cm^3 each. Therefore, one possible set of dimensions that works is w=2 cm, l =5 cm, and h=8 cm.
The surface area of the first prism is 132 cm^2. Since we want the two prisms to have different surface areas, the dimensions of the second prism must be different from those of the first prism. A second set of dimensions that works is w=2 cm, l =4 cm, and h=10 cm.
We've seen that the second prism has a volume of 80 cm^3. Let's find its surface area.
