How is the surface area (SA) of a prism calculated?

The surface area of a prism is determined by summing the lateral area and the areas of the two bases. The lateral area consists of the areas of all the side faces of the prism, which are rectangles in the case of a right prism. The bases are congruent, so to find the total area contributed by the bases, you take the area of one base and multiply it by two.

This means that the surface area can be represented mathematically as the lateral area plus two times the area of one base. Therefore, the correct method to calculate the surface area of a prism is indeed to add the lateral area to twice the area of the base, confirming that the answer is accurate and reflects the proper formula used to compute the surface area of a prism.