Question

a square pyramid and its net are shown below. what is the surface area of the pyramid?

Explanation:

Step1: Find area of the square base

The base is a square with side length 16 cm. The area of a square is $side^2$. So, area of base = $16^2 = 256$ $cm^2$.

Step2: Find area of one triangular face

Each triangular face has a base of 16 cm and a height of 15 cm. The area of a triangle is $\frac{1}{2} \times base \times height$. So, area of one triangle = $\frac{1}{2} \times 16 \times 15 = 120$ $cm^2$.

Step3: Find total area of four triangular faces

There are four triangular faces. So, total area of triangles = $4 \times 120 = 480$ $cm^2$.

Step4: Find surface area of the pyramid

Surface area is the sum of the area of the base and the total area of the triangular faces. So, surface area = $256 + 480 = 736$ $cm^2$.

Answer:

736 square centimeters