What is a Rectangular Prism and why its Surface Area matters?
A rectangular prism is a solid with six rectangular faces and three pairs of equal opposite faces. Its surface area equals the total area of all faces. Surface area matters for paint coverage packaging material heat transfer and protection. Knowing it helps estimate costs plan sheet cutting choose insulation and design efficient objects. It guides sizing strength analysis and maintenance.
Frequently Asked Questions
The total surface area is S = 2(LW + LH + WH) where L is length W is width and H is height. Multiply each pair then double their sum.
Lateral surface area excludes the top and bottom. The formula is SL = 2H(L + W). It is useful for labeling and side covering calculations.
You can enter dimensions in millimeters centimeters meters inches or feet. Results are shown in multiple square units including the one you selected.
You can choose rounding from 0 to 8 decimals. Internally calculations use double precision to minimize rounding error before the final display step.
Yes. Enable the Show steps option to display unit conversion face areas and the formulas with substituted values for transparency and learning.
The prism has three unique face areas. Top and bottom use L×W. Front and back use L×H. Left and right use W×H. Each pair appears twice in the total.
It also provides the space diagonal and the total length of all edges. These help in packaging cutting and material planning tasks.
Use the Copy permalink button. It stores your inputs in the URL so you can reopen or share the exact same calculation on any device.
Results
Total surface area: 62.000 m²
Lateral surface area: 32.000 m²
Lateral surface area: 32.000 m²
| Quantity | m² | cm² | in² | ft² | m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total surface area | 62.000 | 620000.000 | 96100.192 | 667.362 | 62.000 |
| Lateral surface area | 32.000 | 320000.000 | 49600.099 | 344.445 | 32.000 |
| Top or bottom face | 15.000 | 150000.000 | 23250.047 | 161.459 | 15.000 |
| Front or back face | 10.000 | 100000.000 | 15500.031 | 107.639 | 10.000 |
| Left or right face | 6.000 | 60000.000 | 9300.019 | 64.583 | 6.000 |
Step by step
- Convert inputs to meters: L =
5.000m, W =3.000m, H =2.000m. - Compute face areas: LW =
15.000m², LH =10.000m², WH =6.000m². - Total surface area formula:
S = 2(LW + LH + WH)=62.000m². - Lateral surface area formula:
SL = 2H(L + W)=32.000m². - Extras: space diagonal
6.164m, sum of edge lengths40.000m.