Question

Can someone please help me? I have been trying to solve this for hours :(
A triangular prism has an equilateral triangle as its base with sides that measure 2 yards and a height of 5 yards. What is the surface area of this prism if the height of the prism is 8 yards?
45 yd²
48 yd²
58 yd²
80 yd²

Answer 1

try drawing a quick sketch, it might help you

Answer 2

is it lateral? or total surface areaa?

Answer 3

It's total surface area.

Answer 4

That's the thing, I've tried doing things like drawing it, I just can't seem to get the hang of it. :(

Answer 5

total surface area = lateral surface area + base area + base area

lateral surface area = height x perimeter base

Answer 6

does that help??

Answer 7

Are you sure about the question?
A triangular prism has an equilateral triangle as its base with sides that measure 2 yards and a height of 5 yards.

You cannot have an equilateral triangle with sides = 2 and an altitude = 5
You can have an isosceles triangle with these measures.

If we use 2 as the base and 5 as the height, the area of the bottom is 1/2 5*2= 5 sq yd
the top is the same, so 10 total for top and bottom
the 3 sides are each 2*8= 16 sq yd = 48 sq yd

total 58 sq yd

Answer 8

@lgbasallote YES! Thank you so much! Could you stick around for a second to check over my equation?

Answer 9

oops,
the 3 legs cannot be the same

the 3 sides are each 2*8= 16 sq yd = 48 sq yd

Answer 10

@phi Oh excellent! Thank you so much, you would not believe how much that helped. Thank you so much for explaining it and everything. :D

Answer 11

I don't think I explained it. There is no way to get any of your answers that I can see.

Answer 12

ok..go on

Answer 13

If it is equilateral with sides=2, the area of a triangle is sqrt(3)

Answer 14

if the triangle is a base 2 with height 5, we do not know the length of the other 2 sides.
If we assume isosceles, the sides would be sqrt(26). Not good.