Answer:
A prism is a solid figure that has a two congruent bases and rectangular sides. For example, place a square on a table top. Then move the square 5 inches vertically above. The original square and the square in the new position are the bases of a prism. The edges of the prism are the segments that connect each vertex of the bottom base to the corresponding vertex of the upper base. The total number of faces of a prism (bases and sides) is always 2 more than the number of edges of the base polygon.
A pyramid has a single base in the shape of a polygon. Let's say you have a square on a table top. The top of the pyramid is a single point. Think of a point 5 inches above the center of the square. Connect each vertex of the square to the point above the square. That is a pyramid. The sides are triangles. The total number of faces of a pyramid is one more than the number of edges of the base polygon.
A prism has two bases and rectangular sides. If the bases of a prism are triangles, then it has 3 sides, so the total number of faces is 5. To find the surface area of a prism, find the area of a base and double it since the areas of the two bases are always equal. Then find the area of each side face, and add to the area of the bases.
A pyramid has one base and triangular sides. To find the surface area of a pyramid, find the area of the base and the areas of all the triangular sides and add them together.
