What is the surface area of a cube with side length s?

What is the surface area of a cube with side length s?

• A. 6s
• B. 6s^2
• C. 12s^2
• D. 2s^2

Answer: (B)

Cube surface area is found by adding the area of all six square faces. Each face has area s^2, since the side length is s. There are six faces, so total surface area is 6 × s^2, written as 6s^2. The other options don’t match the idea of summing all six square faces: 6s is a linear measurement, not an area; 12s^2 would double the true value, and 2s^2 is too small for six faces. 6s^2 is the correct surface area.

Cube surface area is found by adding the area of all six square faces. Each face has area s^2, since the side length is s. There are six faces, so total surface area is 6 × s^2, written as 6s^2. The other options don’t match the idea of summing all six square faces: 6s is a linear measurement, not an area; 12s^2 would double the true value, and 2s^2 is too small for six faces. 6s^2 is the correct surface area.