Question

A gift box has a length of 14 inches, a height of 8 inches, and a width of 6 inches. how many square inches of wrapping paper are needed to wrap the box?

Answer 1

Because you are looking for square inches of wrapping paper, you are looking for the surface area of the box. A three-dimensional box has a top and bottom that are the same size, a front and back that are the same size, and 2 sides that are the same size...or SA = 2(top/bottom area) + 2(front/back area) + 2(side/side area). Our equation fills in nicely like this:
SA = 2(6 * 14) + 2(6 * 8) + 2(14 * 8)
SA = 2(84) + 2(48) + 2(112)
SA = 168 + 96 + 224
SA = 488 square inches of paper to wrap the box.