How do you figure out surface area and lateral area for a prism?

Step-by-step explanation:

Surface area is when you calculate the area of each face of the prism and then add them all together.

Example:

A cube has six faces. Surface area is the area of each face added together

Lateral area is the surface area of the sides, excluding the top and bottom.

Example:

A cube has six faces. Lateral area would be the surface are of 4 of those 6 sides.