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Calculate the lateral and total surface area of any prism. Enter base area, perimeter, and height.
The surface area of a prism consists of two parts: the lateral area (the rectangular sides) and the base areas (top and bottom).
Imagine "unrolling" the lateral surface. It forms a rectangle with width equal to the base's perimeter and height equal to the prism's height. This is called the net of the prism.
Lateral area includes only the side faces (the "wrapper"). Total surface area includes everything—the sides plus both end caps (bases).
Use lateral area when calculating material for wrapping the sides only, like a label on a can or wallpaper on a room (not floor/ceiling).
For oblique prisms, the lateral surface is more complex (parallelograms instead of rectangles). The simple P × h formula applies only to right prisms.
Add up all the outer edges of the base shape. For irregular shapes, measure or calculate each side and sum them.
A net is a 2D pattern that folds into the 3D shape. For a prism, it's two copies of the base connected by a rectangle (the unrolled lateral surface).
A cylinder follows the same principle: Lateral Area = 2πrh (circumference × height), and total surface area adds two circular bases.