MATHEMATICS

GRADE 9:9

Topic: Solids
Sub-topic: Surface Area of Triangular Prism
Teacher: Ms. C. Thomas

Objective
At the end of this lesson, students should be able to calculate the surface area of
triangular prisms.

Calculating the surface area of solids

1. Identify the number of faces the solid has (you would benefit from looking at the
net of the solid)

2. Calculate the area of each face.

3. Add all the areas together.

lxw

½bh lxw ½bh

lxw
OBSERVE THE FIGURES ABOVE

You should note

1. The triangular prism has 5 faces
2. The 5 faces comprise of – 3 rectangles and 2
triangles
3. The formula for calculating the area of a rectangle
is length multiplied by width
4. The formula for calculating the area of a triangle is
half of the base multiplied by height
5. In a triangular prism, the triangles at both ends of
the prism have the same dimensions (base and
height). Hence, each triangle has the same area.
6. After finding the area of the 5 faces, we add them
together to get the surface area of the triangular
prism.

LET’S GIVE IT A TRY!

Examples
Calculate the surface area of each solid below

Observe the net of the triangular prism

1.
NOTE: ALL PARALLEL SIDES
ARE EQUAL
RECTANGLES
½ x 5 x 12 5 x 15 = 75
12 x 15 = 180
13 x 15 = 195

13 x 15
12 x 15
5 x 15

TRIANGLES
½ x 5 x 12 = 30
½ x 5 x 12 = 30
½ x 5 x 12 510

Surface area of Triangular Prism = (l x w) + (l x w) + (l x w) + 2(½ b x h)

= (5cm x 15cm) + (12cm x 15cm) + (13cm x 15cm) + 2(½ x 5cm x 12cm)
= 75cm2 + 180cm2 + 195cm2 + 60cm2
= 510cm2
 Observe the net of the triangular prism
2.

18 x 13

18 x 10
½ x 12 x 10 ½ x 12 x 10

18 x 13

Surface area of Triangular Prism = (l x w) + (l x w) + (l x w) + 2(½ b x h)

= (18in. x 13in.) + (18in. x 10in.) + (18in. x 13in.) + 2(½ x 12in. x 10in.)
= 234in.2 + 180in.2 + 234in.2 + 120in.2
= 768in.2

For further explanation, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YInNiIzK9o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOCnBtuxwJ4

Be sure to transfer (WRITE) information given to your notebooks.