To find the lateral area of a rectangular prism, you need to focus on only the sides of the prism, ignoring the top and bottom faces. The formula to calculate the lateral area (LA) is:
LA = 2h(l + w)
Where:
- h = height of the prism
- l = length of the base
- w = width of the base
Step-by-step Explanation:
- Identify the dimensions of the rectangular prism: length (l), width (w), and height (h).
- Plug these values into the formula.
- Calculate the perimeter of the base by adding the length and width, then multiply by the height.
- The result will give you the lateral area of the rectangular prism.
This area represents the total surface area of the sides of the prism, which is useful in various applications like packaging or material estimation.