Answer:
Step-by-step explanation:
area of triangular face = ½·3·4 = 6 cm²
area of 3 by 7 face = 3×7 = 21 cm²
area of 5 by 7 face = 5×7 = 35 cm²
area of 4 by 7 face = 4×7 = 28 cm²
total surface area = 2×6 + 21 + 35 + 28 = 96 cm²
For this case we have the following expression:

We follow the steps below:
We subtract 4x on both sides of the equation:

We subtract 10 from both sides of the equation:

Now, we must complete squares.
When we have an equation of the form:
, if we want to complete squares we must subtract c on both sides of the equation obtaining:

The square is completed by adding to both sides of the equation: 
So, we have left:

In the given expression we have:

And to complete the square we have:

Rewriting we have:

We factor the left side of the equation, that is, we look for two numbers that when added together result in -8 and when multiplied as a result 16. We have:

So, we have:

Answer:
The intermediate step is to complete squares

I'm not sure what you are looking for. If you want to know the total number of degrees that interior angles of triangles total, they add up to 180°.
Hope this helps! :)
So, the area of the trapezoid is 287 cm².