The bottom part of this block is a rectangular prism. The top part is a square pyramid. You want to cover the block entirely with paper. How much paper
need?

You need 400 cm² of paper.

Step-by-step explanation:

Step 1:

To determine the amount of paper needed to cover the entire shape, we need to determine the surface area of the entire shape.

The shape consists of a rectangular prism and a square pyramid on top of it.

We need to determine the areas of all the external sides to determine the total surface area.

Step 2:

The external shape consists of 1 square (base of the prism), 4 rectangles (sides of the prism), and 4 triangles (sides of the pyramid).

The square has a side length of 8cm. So

The area of the square cm².

The rectangles have lengths of 8 cm and widths of 7 cm.

The area of 4 rectangles cm².

The triangles have base lengths of 8 cm and heights of 7 cm.

The area of 4 triangles cm².

Step 3:

The total surface area of the prism = The area of the square + The area of 4 rectangles + The area of 4 triangles.

The total surface area cm².

So 400 cm² of paper is needed to cover the entire shape.