If L is the length, H is the height, and W is the width of the rectangular prism, the surface area is:
A = 2*L*H + 2*H*W + 2*W*L
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There must be a typo in this question, "Why does the formula for finding the surface area of arectangular prism is helpful?" What does that even mean?
The formula for finding the surface area of a rectangular prism is 2(wh + lw + lh), where w is width, h is height, and l is length. 3.14 is the value for pi, which is only used for circular objects, like circles, cylinders, and spheres. It has nothing to do with rectangular prisms. Click on the related link below for an illustration of the formula for the surface area of a rectangular prism.
It is helpful because when you do the problem you know what to do.
LxWx2
Given the surface area of a rectangular prism, there are infinitely many rectangular prisms possible.