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How to Find the Lateral Area of a Hexagon

The lateral area of a hexagonal prism covers the area between its two bases. Each base of the prism is an identical hexagon, held parallel at a specified distance apart from each other by the prism's height. The prism's lateral area combines the areas of the rectangles created by the parallel sides of the hexagons and the height between them. By working with the perimeter of one of the bases and the prism's height, finding a hexagonal prism's lateral becomes a simple matter of measurement and math.

Ruler

Instructions

- 1
  Measure the sides of one of the hexagonal bases. For an example, the sides measure 2, 2, 4, 3, 4 and 3 inches.
- 2
  Total the side measurements to calculate the base's perimeter. With this example, the base has a perimeter of 18 inches.
- 3
  Measure the height of the prism. With this example, let the height measure 10 inches.
- 4
  Multiply the base's perimeter by the prism's height to calculate the lateral area. Concluding this example, 18 inches multiplied by 10 inches equals 180 square inches --- the lateral area is 180 square inches.

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