Question

How do you calculate surface area using vectors?

Answer 1

Can you give an example of a specific problem?

Answer 2

All my teacher said was to use vectors to calculate the surface area of a tissue box, and we're supposed to try and see if we could figure it out. I'm guessing it's something to do with derivatives/integrals, because that's what we're being introduced to right now at the end of the precal course.

Answer 3

Well you can just use vectors as the sides of the box and calculate the surface area the same way you would with regular line segments. Take the magnitude of the width vector, the length vector, and the depth vector, then use them as the values in the surface area formula.