A gift box has a length of 14 inches, a height of 8 inches, and a width of 6 inches. how many square inches of wrapping paper are needed to wrap the box?

Because you are looking for square inches of wrapping paper, you are looking for the surface area of the box. A three-dimensional box has a top and bottom that are the same size, a front and back that are the same size, and 2 sides that are the same size ... or SA = 2 (top/bottom area) + 2 (front/back area) + 2 (side/side area). Our equation fills in nicely like this:

SA = 2 (6 * 14) + 2 (6 * 8) + 2 (14 * 8)

SA = 2 (84) + 2 (48) + 2 (112)

SA = 168 + 96 + 224

SA = 488 square inches of paper to wrap the box.